Arwen And The Sorceress
by Dan Sickles
Summary: The saga is now complete! This is the story of how Arwen Evenstar journeyed south to the sinful city of Zin Zaraboob, how she overcame the foul sorceress Zuleika, and how she won the love of the fierce pirate Ling Kray. Rated T for some sensuality!
1. The Secret Scroll

ARWEN AND THE SORCERESS

_I do not own these characters, J.R.R. Tolkien is a genius, etc. Please comment nicely! _

CHAPTER ONE: THE SECRET SCROLL

"The fate of the world is being decided by Frodo and his friends," Arwen declared dramatically, as she marched into the room. "How can you just sit there like nothing is happening?"

"I'm not just sitting here," Galadriel said reasonably. "I'm eating breakfast, and reading the scrolls just brought to me by messenger. A true queen is always calm and focused."

"Are the scrolls very important?" Arwen's curiosity was aroused at once. The impetuous, raven-haired beauty from Rivendell seated herself close to Galadriel and looked over her shoulder as the golden-haired queen scanned her scrolls. Most were from other elves, seeking aid or counsel. A few were from wise wizards such as Gandalf.

"All of them are important," Galadriel sighed. "Yet very few can be answered with any real assistance. We are too few, we elves. And our time is growing short in Middle Earth."

"What's that big scroll over there?" Arwen snatched a roll from Galadriel's plate. She was hungry as well as curious.

"At least all this worrying over the Ring-bearer hasn't spoiled your appetite." Galadriel couldn't help smiling. Her young companion was impulsive, but her kindness and eagerness to do good were truly special. "That scroll is from Zuleika, the Sorceress of the Shifting Sands," the queen explained. "She rules in Zin Zaraboob, a small port city of fabulous wealth just south of Gondor."

"Blessed evening star, what a ridiculous name!" Arwen laughed, but when she saw her guardian frowning she immediately grew serious too. "Is this Zuleika an enemy of ours? Is she in league with . . . with him? The Great Eye?"

"Not yet," Galadriel said grimly. "But she demands a high price for her neutrality. We lose more money in trade with her each year. That scroll is undoubtedly a fresh list of goods and gifts she expects to receive by sea. The king of Zin Zaraboob was a true friend, but he died several years ago. This woman seized power after imprisoning his son Kassim, the last true prince. I'm sure he's dead by now as well."

"It seems there is sorrow everywhere, not just in our little corner of Middle Earth." Arwen was looking sad and rather thoughtful as Galadriel rose gracefully from the table. But then she looked up, her big blue eyes curious once again. "Where are you going, Galadriel? Is there a council?"

"No dramatic policy discussions today," Galadriel laughed. "I'm only going to walk among the trees. You're welcome to join me later. In the meantime, finish your breakfast and look over my morning scrolls. You too may be a queen someday."

"I will, Galadriel. And thanks!" Arwen was anxious to obey. She had overslept again! When was she going to become more like Galadriel?

She gulped down her breakfast and enjoyed a quick cup of morning brew. But then everything stopped. For hidden inside the big scroll from Zuleika there was a smaller scroll. A secret scroll. And on the scroll were just two words.

HELP ME.

_A/N: This story picks up right after my previous Arwen/Galadriel story, "Arwen The Wicked And Wise." Please give me suggestions and feedback!_


	2. A True Friendship

CHAPTER TWO: A True Friendship

"It is decided," declared the Lady Galadriel. "The council of Lothlorien will send our usual tribute to Zuleika of the Shifting Sands. However, this time we will also send an ambassador to the city of Zin Zaraboob. Arwen Evenstar shall seek the city's assistance in the war with Sauron, and also investigate the disappearance of Prince Kassim. It shall be a _cautious_ investigation, so as not to violate the diplomatic mission."

Seated at the great council table by her guardian's side, Arwen felt a slight chill of foreboding mar the sheer pride of her achievement. Galadriel had championed her plan in council, yet the golden-haired queen had been cool and distant ever since Arwen first declared her intention to uncover the truth about the lost prince and the secret scroll. Surely after all this time the queen didn't doubt her courage?

"When do you depart our shores, Daughter of Elrond?"

"My ship sails in the morning," Arwen replied, "as soon as the goods are loaded aboard. I want to get moving at once." Quickly she added, "With the council's permission, of course." After all, the wise and dignified elf who had addressed her like an equal was even older than her father!

"All will be ready," Lady Galadriel confirmed. Her ethereal visage gave no clue whether she was pleased or displeased. "Let us all seek rest, for tomorrow shall be an eventful day."

Later, as she prepared for bed in her private chamber, Arwen reflected on the dangers ahead of her. She could understand now why even a man as fearless as Aragorn would have doubts about his worthiness on the eve of battle. But when her beloved was doubtful she was there for him. This was her night of doubt, and she was all alone.

Just then there was a gentle tap on the door.

"Come in, please." Lying on her bed in a relaxed pose, Arwen made a point of not appearing too excited or happy or relieved when she saw who it was.

"I have documents for you to read and sign," Galadriel announced, fixing the younger elf-queen with a cool, level stare. The fact that her arms were full of scrolls did not ease Arwen's anxiety in the slightest. When had her golden-haired friend and protector become this chilly and polite stranger? An aloof, unsmiling Galadriel perched on the side of her bed.

"These are letters to my father!" Arwen felt the color rise to her cheeks. She had not left the House of Elrond on the best of terms. Indeed her father had been most incensed at her, both for renouncing her immortality and even more for being caught in the midst of passion with a mortal like Aragorn!

"By signing these scrolls you bear witness that you have left my protection of your own free will," Galadriel said gravely. "You declare that your decision to leave was not forced, and that your death or injury or any other form of dishonor is not to be laid at the feet of the elves of Lorien or the council."

"Or at your feet?" Arwen signed as directed, and then looked deep into the blue eyes of the wisest female in Middle Earth. "Are you so certain I shall fail, Galadriel? Do you really think so little of me?"

"You are leaving me," Galadriel stated simply. "I must think of you as little as possible."

"But you do care about me, don't you?" Arwen felt tears come to her eyes. "Galadriel, you are so perfect in every way. All I have ever wanted was to be exactly like you! That is why I feel I must go on this quest to rescue Prince Kassim. Because I think it is something you would do."

"You do me honor, Arwen of Rivendell." Galadriel squeezed her hand. "Yes, I care about you very much. I worry what will happen to you. Beauty, courage, and kindness you have. I'm not so sure about wisdom." The Lady of Lothlorien smiled, but there were tears in her eyes too. "You are a very reckless young lady, Daughter of Elrond."

"Well, I have wisdom. But do I really need common sense?" Arwen had never attempted to joke with the queen before. But tonight she made her laugh. The two fair elven queens sat up talking until the hour was late, not worrying about the future, but instead laughing and enjoying the memory of good times past. At last Galadriel rose and said good-night, and Arwen lay back with a sigh, grateful for a true friendship.

Her joyous laughter swiftly became a deep sleep.


	3. Facing Temptation

CHAPTER THREE: Facing Temptation

Arwen was still sleeping soundly when the hour came for her departure. She awoke only when someone tossed a bundle of clothing on her bed.

"What is this? Sisters, I don't understand!" After studying the unfamiliar garments with a puzzled frown, Arwen looked up at the lithe, light-footed elves who attended Queen Galadriel. But they slipped out as silently as they came. Only the youngest winked at her as though sharing some private joke.

The clothes were clearly made for a man. They were not of elvish weaving. Arwen saw that they were meant for a gambler, a swordsman, or some such loose-living boy. There were tight-fitting black breeches, a short black jacket, and a white shirt with lace cuffs and a high collar. Everything was newly pressed or ironed or polished, from the glossy black boots with gold buckles to the wide, low-crowned black hat decorated with a single dashing white plume.

Arwen was hurt by the absence of Galadriel, for she had been expecting a chance to say a last farewell. A chance to explain her reasons for going on this dangerous quest. But instead of moping she bounced out of bed and got dressed.

"You look quite fetching, daughter of Elrond," said a low but deeply feminine voice. Galadriel was standing in the doorway, her white gown shimmering in the morning light.

"I thank you, gracious lady." Arwen smiled but did not turn away from her looking glass. She had a full heart, yet her pride refused to let her say how moved she was. Instead she continued to dress herself, fumbling with the white lace cravat which completed her rather rakish male attire.

"Here, allow me." Galadriel began knotting the cravat for her, her fingers skilled and knowing. Their eyes met. "You are most convincing as a young man, daughter of Elrond. This disguise will aid you in your investigations in Zin Zaraboob. We must find out what happened to Prince Kassim."

"Yes, I wondered why you chose to give me such an . . . unusual going-away present." Arwen blushed. Finding fault with Galadriel was like trying to outshine the sun. "I am grateful for this and for all your kindness, truly. It's just . . ."

"You may speak freely, daughter of Elrond." The tall, serenely beautiful Queen of Lothlorien gave the younger female a piercing look. "Say what is in your heart."

"What Frodo and his friends are doing is important," Arwen blurted out, turning away from Galadriel and flopping down on the bed. "But they are not elven folk. Apart from Legolas and my beloved Aragorn, they are strangers to our sacred ways. Yet they wear our cloaks, carry our jewels, while . . ."

"While the lady you love and serve has given more to strangers than to you." Galadriel sat down beside her on the bed. "You are still precious to me, Arwen." She caressed the younger female's long dark hair with a slim white hand. "I have given you the clothing of an outsider because your quest is different from that other one. You will be facing internal conflicts, not merely external obstacles. You will be facing temptation."

"Temptation?" Arwen was puzzled. "How can I be tempted? I have no greed for gold, or power. I have great love for Aragorn, and he loves me. What more could I want?"

Galadriel mussed her hair. "Ah, that is what you will discover in the city of Zin Zaraboob." And she laughed quite loud.


	4. Under The Stars

CHAPTER FOUR: Under The Stars

Arwen tossed restlessly in her bunk, sleepless in spite of the gentle rocking of the boat and the soothing sound of waves. During the day she generally kept to her cabin, wishing to avoid both the curious stares of the sailors and the disturbing sight of their scarred, tattooed, heavily-muscled bodies.

The nights were different. When she slipped on deck in her boots and breeches Arwen didn't bother to conceal her womanly curves or pin up her long black hair. Aside from the sailors on watch, only old Trill the navigator was awake at this hour. And he knew her secret already.

"I'm not afraid to fight the brutes, if it comes to that," Arwen told him, when they were both seated by the tiller. Trill kept his hammock here in all but the foulest weather, so that he could check the ship's course at all hours. It was also less hot and stuffy outdoors. "I've faced creatures far more horrible than a few smelly, hairy sailors. It's just that . . . I don't want to tempt them to their own destruction. I know how the beauty of an elven queen can sometimes turn a man's head, make him crazed or irrational. It even happens among us sometimes," she said, with a nervous laugh.

"Elves and men might be very different, my lady, but the folly of youth is always the same," Trill replied, in his soothing, musical voice. "What you want to do is take things calmly, not rush to find disaster at your door each day. Remember, things are never as dire as a house on fire."

"Exactly!" Arwen felt she could relax and be herself around wise old Trill. "My true love Aragorn is the handsomest man in Middle Earth," she confided, covering up a great big yawn. "A girl would be crazy to want anyone else."

"Sometimes we want what we've been told we can't have," Trill said quietly. "And sometimes we chase after things we don't want to prove we're the same as everyone else. Of course, when I was your age, I never chased after anyone. And that's the greatest folly of all."

"Ah, yes. Poor Trill." Arwen had spent hours chatting with the gentle navigator. She knew he had never married. "Still, you have your nephew's family to care for," she said brightly. "They have a new baby, didn't you say?"

"They do," the navigator said proudly. "I'm knitting a sailor's cap for him right now. Just wait right here, I'll show you."

Arwen smiled as she watched her friend go below decks. Of all the men on the ship, Trill was the only one she had really gotten to know. It was hard to believe that in just a few more days they would reach Zin Zaraboob. Would she be ready?

Climbing into Trill's hammock, Arwen gazed up at the stars. She had put many miles of blue water between herself and Galadriel, yet she still wondered why the golden-haired queen had warned her about temptation. It was hard to imagine anything more tempting than simply lying under the stars on a night like this, dreaming of her beloved Aragorn. Arwen let herself drift and dream. Soon she was fast asleep.

The pirates attacked at dawn, their screams and war cries rousing the tall elf-maid from her stupor. She groped for her boots, she groped for her sword, yet nothing was close by. Foolish! She had failed again. With her mind on love and Aragorn, she had forgotten all about her quest, her mission, and even her friends. Poor brave Trill was one of the first to die, for she saw him try to protect her only to be cut down.

"Who are you, my beauty? Are you someone we should spare for now, and sell for a very high price ashore?" The pirate captain was tall, with bronze skin and oily black hair tied back in a tight braid that fell down his back like a snake.

"I am Arwen, of Rivendell. And you are going to die."

With her bare hands, Arwen tried to choke the life from the scarred bare-chested pirate leader. He was laughing, his hands still covered with her friend's blood. But Arwen would not give up. The captain stopped laughing. He slapped her, but she still would not release her hold on his throat. Then someone hit her from behind, and everything went black.


	5. Ling Kray's Rumble

CHAPTER FIVE: Ling Kray's Rumble

Ling Kray was a pirate. His trade was killing on the high seas. The tools of his trade were the rusted knives and tarnished swords lying scattered about on the rough plank floor of his cabin.

"You are my new cabin boy," he announced, flinging a captive Arwen Evenstar ahead of him into his private quarters below decks. "The last one got his head cut off for disobeying my orders. Now grab a rag and some grease and polish my blades for battle."

"Are you mad?" Arwen's sharp voice sounded unusually loud in the closed-in cabin. Her head was still throbbing from the blow that had knocked her unconscious up on deck. "What's to stop me from seizing one of these blades and driving it into your pirate heart?"

"Common sense," the pirate captain replied. He flung himself down on a heap of brightly colored cushions in the corner of the cabin. "If I wanted to kill you, princess, I would have done it before, when you were out cold and helpless. I'm keeping you alive so I can sell you (for a very high price) at the great slave market in Zin Zaraboob. You can't escape on the open sea, but on shore you may have better luck. Other men are easier to kill than Ling Kray."

"You're a killer, and you _deserve_ to die." This time Arwen only muttered her words of defiance. Her head was killing her. Resistance was futile.

Ling Kray was already settling down to sleep.

The work of polishing the pirate blades was harder than she expected. Arwen sat cross-legged on the hard wooden floor, her long black hair falling into her eyes as she examined each blade in turn. The hammering pain in her head was a torment, and the air in the pirate's cabin was hot and stuffy. Soon her shoulders ached from polishing each rusty blade, and the sweat ran into her eyes and made them sting.

All this was nothing compared to the turbulence in her heart. Time and again Arwen ceased her labors and turned to glare at the sleeping pirate captain. He wasn't a man. He was an evil beast. He had killed her friends, and stolen her ship. He _deserved_ to die.

And yet she hesitated. Standing over the sleeping form of Ling Kray, Arwen drank in the evil beauty of his hard bronzed body, and the stern perfection of his exotic, high-cheekboned face. The black-haired, eastern pirate wasn't like Aragorn. He wasn't like any of the fair men of the west. He was a sleeping tiger. Even the arrogant curve of his lush cruel mouth seemed somehow indecent, obscene. Her hand was shaking when she finally picked up the knife.

"None of that, my lovely!" Arwen gasped in shock as the bold pirate seized her arm. How could a man sleeping soundly awaken in a split second? Ling Kray crushed her wrist in an iron grip. Then he gave a twist and the sharp blade fell from her grasp, clattering uselessly to the floor. But the true humiliation came when he yanked her across his knee and spanked her. Ling Kray's hard flat palm smacked her firm, rounded bottom quite soundly, and before long the proud daughter of Elrond lost all her elven dignity and positively howled for mercy.

"Now get back to work, princess. I don't want another peep out of you." Ling Kray lay back down to sleep, then opened one ebony eye to pierce her soul. "Not even a rumble."

Burning with shame, Arwen picked up her rag and went back to work. This time her head wasn't the sorest part of her body. And it wasn't sweat that made her eyes sting.


	6. That's Outrageous!

CHAPTER SIX: That's Outrageous!

Arwen awoke in total darkness. With a loud gasp, the captive elf sat bolt upright, scattering her cushions. Her heart was still pounding after a truly horrific dream, and she could _feel_ the sinister presence of Ling Kray the pirate. But then her shoulders slumped in relief. He wasn't looming over her sleeping form as she'd imagined. Yet his musky fragrance still clung to the soft silk cushions where she'd slept.

The daughter of Elrond frowned into the stifling darkness. She remembered being captured by Ling Kray – being dragged into his cabin – and she remembered toiling over his tarnished collection swords and knives. An unwilling captive, she'd polished each blade with a greasy rag until her arms ached and her shoulders sagged with exhaustion. But she didn't remember falling asleep afterwards, curled up in a ball on the hard wooden floor. And she _certainly_ didn't recall being moved from the floor of the pirate's cabin to the scented softness of his bed!

Seeking to confront her captor, Arwen made her way on deck. Outdoors it was still pitch-black, but the air was colder than the captain's cabin. The faint yellow glow of a lantern led her to the pirate captain himself, standing lookout in the bow with a sea-cloak wrapped around his broad shoulders.

"Where are we? Are we approaching land? How far is it to the city of Zin Zaraboob?" Arwen could hear distant waves crashing against the night-shrouded shore. She pictured the ship being dashed to pieces by unseen rocks.

"Sorry, slave. There's been a change of plan. We're not going to Zin Zaraboob just yet. We need to do a little midnight trading first."

"What? You mean it's not safe to sell stolen goods in a city ruled by a mere woman? Zuleika of the Shifting Sands must be a dark and deadly sorceress indeed!" Arwen was being sarcastic. Yet it was good to know her enemy had enemies. An even more encouraging thought came to her. "Did you just change your mind? Or did someone change it for you? The mighty Ling Kray ran into something he couldn't handle!"

"Zuleika's fleet appeared just off the horizon at sunset." Ling Kray was maddeningly casual about the whole thing. "We couldn't fight them, so we outran them. They'll never catch us in the swamps, though. Zuleika's not that powerful. Yet."

"Hmph. If I'd seen those ships, I'd have hollered for help." Arwen knew she might have been spotted, or even rescued. Instead she'd been down below, _toiling_ for her new master. And then she'd fallen asleep in his far too comfortable bed!

"It's a good thing you were resting in my cabin," Ling Kray told her calmly. "I'd have cut your head off if you yelled."

"How brave you are!" Arwen declared, in a snarky way. There was a look in the pirate's eyes that made her shiver. But she tried to shrug it off. "Still, I suppose losing my head would be far more dignified than your _other_ punishments!"

Unexpectedly, the pirate chuckled at her feeble joke. "Yes, I thought you might wake up a little sore. My cabin floor is hard, even though someone moved you to the bed later on."

"You couldn't have . . ." Arwen was embarrassed. The cruel pirate Ling Kray must have moved her while she slept. She _hated_ the idea of accepting his kindness. Yet she also hated the idea that she'd simply claimed someone else's bed!

Just then there was a jolt as the hull of the ship scraped some underwater rocks. Arwen was forced to sit down and watch as Ling Kray piloted his sleek stolen vessel past the dangerous surf into the mouth of a vast salt-water marsh.

It was a dangerous, nerve-wracking time for all aboard. Yet as the long minutes dragged by, Arwen had to admit that the pirate's skill was impressive. As he shouted orders to his helmsman and averted each deadly peril, Ling Kray really became one with the ship. It was cold, yet he didn't seem to _feel_ the cold. He even shed his sea-cloak, and grunted a command for her to slip it over her shoulders.

The moment she put on the cloak, Arwen felt warm and snug. Ling Kray's tiger-scent enveloped her senses once again in a way that was both soothing and disturbing. Someone brought her a cup of hot brew, rich and strong, and she sipped it gratefully as the chilly night wore on.

"All right, princess. Let's go meet the natives." It seemed to be hours later when Ling Kray's powerful hand gripped her forearm, pulling her upright in the wink of an eye.

"What?" Arwen found herself standing nose to nose with the pirate. His eyes were very black. His lips were very close to hers. She blinked, shaking off the strange sense of expectation. "We're going ashore? On our own?" They were now deep in the fog-shrouded marsh. Arwen had been dozing for some time, wrapped in the warm folds of the pirate's cloak. Suddenly she was being loaded into a tiny landing craft by grinning pirates, with the fierce and treacherous Ling Kray as her only companion!

"Don't be scared," the pirate captain told her, reaching over to button the top button of her cloak. "We're going to trade elven goods, so having an elf along makes perfect sense. Just smile, and try to act like we're respectable traders, not pirates. That'll get us a better price."

"That's outrageous!" Arwen absolutely despised the man. He was not only cruel, he was dishonest! But she couldn't risk being spanked or tossed overboard. Instead she silently stewed as Ling Kray began rowing them ashore. There was no honesty in his heart, but there was power in his stroke. Ling Kray's body was like a chiseled work of art.

Arwen shuddered, and looked away.

She _had_ to get away from this man!


	7. Arwen Escapes

CHAPTER SEVEN: Arwen Escapes

They called themselves _miri-squaramiri_, the Frog-Children. It was a good name for them, Arwen thought, covering a huge yawn with her slim hand. The night of trading dragged on and on.

The daughter of Elrond squeezed her eyes tight shut, then blinked several times. hoping they would stay open. She had never seen creatures as slow and patient as the squat, emerald-skinned swamp dwellers. If one female saw a fine-woven blanket or a brooch worth having, the whole tribe had to inspect it carefully before they agreed to trade.

"The Frog-Children own everything in common," Ling Kray murmured, during one of the endless tribal discussions, which to Arwen sounded just like ordinary bullfrog croaks. It might have been funny if she weren't sitting side by side with a pirate, helping him to sell fine elven goods that weren't his!

When they first entered the long, low tent at the water's edge, she felt like running. Or screaming her head off. The unblinking black eyes of the frog-children were chilling. Neither cruel nor kind, they were simply expressionless. With a shudder, Arwen realized she felt safer sticking to the devil she knew – Ling Kray – than seeking shelter from creatures that were so very unearthly in their appearance.

In any case, it soon became apparent that the bronzed eastern pirate with the insolent smile was something of a favorite with the strange frog-like people of the swamps. When platters were passed around with heaps of crab, crayfish and other tasty saltwater delicacies, Ling Kray got first share, but he made sure his "partner" partook as well. Arwen refused to be ungracious, so she ate willingly. The food her cruel abductor gave her was delicious. And it was the same when the croaking creatures shared their liquor.

"It's called _gliss-ta glorp-slorp._ The Happiness Drink." The name didn't make much sense, Arwen thought. Ling Kray didn't seem to feel any intoxicating effects. The potent beverage only made her yearn for sleep. But the pride of the House of Elrond kept her upright. Hour after hour, Arwen sat there holding her eyes open while the pirate bartered _her_ goods for precious gems and basic sea-going supplies.

"Thank you, my friends," Ling Kray said at last. There was a small heap of precious stones on the carpet at his feet. The frog-people fished for them in the murky deep. It was dawn, for gray light showed through all the cracks in the stuffy tent.

"What do we do now?" Arwen yawned as they walked outside together. After such a long night, there was no way to preserve her ethereal elven dignity. She was so tired that she stumbled over a tree root and nearly tripped and fell.

"We row back to the ship, of course." Ling Kray caught her arm in an iron grip, steadying her. "My frog-friends were very generous tonight. They still think I'm a respectable merchant." His black eyes rested on hers, and for a moment his harsh expression softened. "Thanks for playing along."

"Hmph." Arwen broke free of his grip. She didn't like the way she felt when the evil man touched her. She lowered her voice. "Somehow I don't think these strange frog-creatures care about the difference between right and wrong."

"Ah, then you judge people by outward appearance. That is foolish, my beautiful slave." Ling Kray smiled a wolfish smile. "Beauty does not equal goodness, any more than passion equals love. Perhaps you're still unaware of the difference. I can show you, if you like. I can awaken your passions fully." His cruel red mouth was strangely enticing.

"I'm not your slave. And I don't need lessons in passion!"

Ling Kray was amused. "Do you think I'm talking about forcing you? I think you already know that's not necessary." His eyes connected to hers in a knowing way. Arwen couldn't help staring back, fascinated.

"I need to make a visit to the bushes," she muttered at last, breaking the connection by looking off into the misty swamp.

Ling Kray laughed, as though he understood the real source of her discomfort. But then there was that look, that softness in his eyes once more. "Don't take too long, stubborn one. Not all the swamp creatures are my friends."

While she was squatting in the bushes, Arwen forced her mind to shake off the fog of weariness and function clearly. The realities of the situation were simple. She had been kidnapped by a remorseless killer, a man who thrived on dominance and power. She was exhausted and in shock. She was entirely subject to the whims of Ling Kray, and she was naturally beginning to feel dependent on her abductor. The thing to do was to escape _now_, before these confusing and deeply irrational feelings led her to a truly shameful end.

Nothing was easier than slipping into the fog and drifting away from the frog-people's encampment. As she moved silently through the shallow water, Arwen tried to ignore the clinging wetness. It had been days since she had a proper bath. She had to find her way northwards, towards the desert – and the city of Zin Zaraboob. There would be danger there, too, of course, but not this clammy misery. Arwen pushed on, her feet dragging in the mud. Soon buzzing and biting insects descended on her in great clouds.

"Arwen? Where are you?" That was Ling Kray's voice! Arwen immediately began to move faster, though it was hard going in clinging mud and waist-deep water. Strange how the sound of her own name brought a smile to her lips. _Now he remembers that I have a name_, she thought, foolishly. _Now that I'm free of him_.

But she wasn't free yet. Arwen heard the pirate shouting commands in a strange language. Was he was calling the other pirates from the ship? Or was he summoning the strange frog-children to his aid? _They_ would have no trouble catching up to her. Those slimy skins, those big webbed feet, and those strange black eyes . . . Arwen tried to swim herself, but the water was too shallow. She tried break into a run, but the mud was deeper and stickier than ever!

"_Arwen!"_ This time the pirate was definitely angry, bellowing her name in a great rage. "Arwen, come back here!" With a huge effort, the daughter of Elrond put herself into an all-out run, her heart hammering and the blood pounding in her ears. Yet she could still hear the pirate's hoarse voice, the words now only coming in snatches as she widened the gap.

"Danger . . . can't see you . . . drag you down . . ."

Arwen was sobbing with fear and exhaustion as she finally reached the ankle-deep shallows. Flowering bushes lined the shore. It was strange how the sweet smell of the tiny white flowers drew her to safety. Arwen flopped down on the black earth beneath the bushes, spent and trembling. She would hide in the thick undergrowth, and let the pirate search elsewhere. She was safe now. She was safe . . .

And then a long, slimy tentacle whipped out of the water, and wrapped itself around her slender ankle.


	8. The Pirate's Fate

CHAPTER EIGHT: The Pirate's Fate

When the many-tentacled monster from the deep seized her by the ankle, Arwen Evenstar reacted purely out of instinct.

"Ling Kray, help me!" Her shrill scream pierced the thick mists of the swamp. Arwen didn't care that her only hope was the wicked pirate she had been running from just moments ago. She didn't care if her escape was foiled. Instead she held on to the thick roots of the flowering bushes with all her strength, praying that her grip would hold until help arrived. Better to be a pirate's slave than a meal for a monster from the dawn of time!

"Release your hold, foul beast!" Ling Kray's curved blade flashed bluish-silver in the misty morning light. He knew he couldn't actually kill the giant all-devouring squid. But he lashed about with his sword, lopping off tentacle after tentacle, hoping he could convince the creature to surrender its prey. It didn't matter that the foolish elf-maiden had been running away when the beast attacked. Arwen was his slave. He would do anything to protect her.

Arwen only saw the final part of the battle. When she turned her head, the nightmare beast was sinking out of sight and the victorious pirate was rising from the waves. His chest was covered with cuts and bruises, round red marks from the beast's sucking tentacles. His sword was dripping with the horrible monster's gruesome green blood. His eyes were black and fearless, but they were also flashing with rage.

"You!" Ling Kray tossed his sword aside. He hauled Arwen to her feet, holding her in a very firm grip. "If you ever do this again, I will make you very sorry. You are my slave, Arwen. You must give me your complete and total obedience."

"You're hurt." Arwen reached out to touch the circular welt on the pirate's sun-bronzed cheek. She hated being called a slave. But she also realized that Ling Kray had risked his life to protect her. Confusing emotions surged within her. She battled the strange desire to kiss the tiny bruises on his face.

"Captain, you are a brave fighter and a skilled navigator," she said at last, her voice unsteady and rather hoarse. "Why do you not let me go? You do not need to be a pirate. A dozen navies would be proud to have a captain like you." _And a certain elven queen would want you as well – were it not pure disgrace even to think such a thing_, she added silently to herself.

Anger left his exotic, chiseled face. Sadness filled it. Yet his hold on her never slackened. "You understand nothing, Arwen. I am a pirate. I will never let you go."

Arwen felt like tilting her chin and insisting that she _did_ understand the difference between right and wrong. Between honor and dishonor. Between passion and love. But all these worthy thoughts vanished like smoke the moment Ling Kray kissed her lips.

At first she wanted to push him away. Arwen had been kissed before, but Aragorn's kisses were always gentle, almost worshipful in a way, as though she were a crystal ornament sitting on her father's shelf. Ling Kray's kiss was different. He plundered her lips hungrily, as though he wanted both her sweetness and her strength. As though he _needed_ her and would never get enough. Being kissed that way by a man she hardly knew was more than shameful. It was _obscene_. But Arwen couldn't stop the wild elation, the exhilarating pleasure. She couldn't stop wanting him . . . or needing him . . . or kissing him back with equal passion.

"Well, well, looks like the famous Captain Ling Kray has a taste for swamp rats."

"Huh?" Arwen was so caught up in the pirate's kiss that she never even saw the two mail-clad warriors. Both were female, and both were looking at her with absolute disdain. One had an arrow ready to shoot, while the other held a sword to the back of her companion's neck.

"I've broken no laws," Ling Kray said smoothly, without any sign of panic. He turned around slowly and raised his hands. "My name is Ling Chan, not Ling Kray. I am a respectable trader, and this elven lady is my wife. You Border Guards must have mistaken me for someone else."

"It's not true!" After standing there dazed for far too long, Arwen finally regained her senses. "I'm not his _wife_. I'm an ambassador from the elven kingdoms. Ling Kray took my ship! He captured me and then _forced_ me to be his slave."

"He wasn't forcing you just now," the tall, blonde female with the sword said, in a chilly voice. Her meaning was plain.

Arwen blushed. "I'm a diplomat, and I was journeying to the city of Zin Zaraboob to meet with Zuleika, ruler of the city. Can you take me there?"

"We can take both of you there," the blonde said grimly. "And we can hang your heads on the city gates. Pirates who raid our shipping always meet the same fate."

"Gwenna, I'm not sure this girl really is a pirate," said the other Border Guard. She was just as tall and lithe and strong as pale blonde Gwenna, but her hair was black and her skin a rich dark brown. She lowered her bow just a fraction.

That was when Ling Kray made his move. He lunged for the sword he had carelessly dropped by the water's edge just moments before. The black girl raised her bow. But without quite knowing why, Arwen shoved her off balance so the shot went wide. Cool blonde Gwenna promptly hit Arwen from behind, using the hilt of her sword to send her sprawling in the mud. Then the battered elf-maid saw something horrible.

Ling Kray was slowly being dragged off the muddy bank. The deadly beast from before time began had returned. This time its long, whip-like tentacles had caught the pirate instead of Arwen.

"Save him!" Arwen's anguish made no sense. Yet her slim white hands reached out, catching the pirate's in a firm grip. Ling Kray squeezed hard. Their eyes met for one last time.

"Don't waste tears . . . on me," he gasped, as the creature took him under.

"Beware the pirate's fate," said Gwenna, as the last few bubbles disappeared. Her snide voice made Arwen weep. She might have held on, if the two guardswomen had helped her!

"Maybe he's not dead," said the other girl. "After all, those Frog Creatures have saved other humans in these swamps."

"Saved them or eaten them?" Gwenn asked, with a cruel laugh. "Come on, Tamara. We've still got one prisoner. Let's get her back with the others. It's time we were moving on."

Arwen didn't know where they were taking her. And she didn't care. When she looked back the water was very still.


	9. Arwen's Defiance

CHAPTER NINE: Arwen's Defiance

"Water for the horses! Horses first!"

After three days of grueling desert travel, the caravan of traders and slaves had reached the last oasis before the city of Zin Zaraboob. Nearly everyone was parched with thirst, red-eyed from lack of sleep, and on the edge of physical collapse. And none more so than the sole diplomatic traveler in the group, Arwen Evenstar of the House of Elrond.

"Hold back there, now," the elf-maiden cautioned, using her cracked voice and sunburned hands to restrain the small group of children clustered behind her. "All of us will suffer if the horses aren't properly watered. Let the soldiers do their work."

"I'm not afraid of them," boasted a little black boy whose parents had died on the march. "I've got a knife, see?"

"Juba, put that away!" Arwen hissed. The children she'd befriended had all been taken from their jungle homes and forced into a life of slavery by desert raiders. She wasn't sure if the ruler of Zin Zaraboob had authorized the raids. But she knew what kind of violence Gwenna the Guard Captain would unleash on the captives if given the least excuse.

Gwenna was the tall blonde female who had struck Arwen from behind when she tried to rescue the doomed pirate Ling Kray. All through the arduous desert trek the blue-eyed woman warrior had barked orders from horseback, setting a murderous pace and sneering at the weakness of the black captives who collapsed one by one. And it seemed she had a special hankering to start trouble with Arwen!

The gentle elf-captive waited last to drink. After three days in the desert, her beautiful long black hair was tangled and matted. Her pale white skin was filthy, caked with dried swamp-muck and itching from old insect bites. Even the insides of her eyelids felt gritty with sand. As she quenched her thirst, Arwen wondered if she would experience the pleasure of _bathing_ in fresh water ever again!

"No grain for slaves! No grain for slaves!" Gwenna shoved the children away from the bag of grain she had just sliced open with her sword. Other female guards were already filling nosebags for their steeds.

"Captain Gwenna, why must the children go hungry?" Arwen was very upset, but she kept her voice soft and low. She didn't want to start any trouble between guards and slaves.

"Be silent, you bleeding-heart!" The captain laughed, showing all her white teeth. "Yellow pirates raid our shipping. Black beggars crowd our cities. Why should we feed extra mouths? Maybe _you'd_ be happier back in the arms of your pirate master, but _we've_ got to fight for our freedom!"

"A country that lets children go hungry isn't free," Arwen began, but just then someone grabbed her by the elbow.

"All will be fed tomorrow, when we reach the city gates," murmured gentle Captain Tamara. The tall, dark-skinned woman warrior led Arwen to a shady corner of the oasis, where a cluster of exhausted children were already resting on grass mats. Sleep overpowered the elf-maid so quickly that she didn't even notice that Juba was missing.

"Wretched girl, get on your feet! On your feet this instant!"

The sun was setting when Arwen awoke. Captain Gwenna was kicking her in the ribs.

"What's the matter? What have I done?" Arwen was afraid of the blonde woman. It wasn't simply how tall and strong she was. Her blue eyes burned with the light of madness. Gwenna liked being angry. She liked making people afraid. Arwen had fought ring-wraiths and been kidnapped by pirates, but she had never met anyone like her.

"Look!" The captain waved a small knife in her face. "Someone used _this_ to slit open a bag of dried fruit. And all the little black apes we brought with us from the jungle have cut their bonds and disappeared! Did you help them escape?"

"I didn't see – didn't help – I mean, I told them _not_ to resist." Arwen sat up and began rubbing the grit from her eyes. She didn't want to get anyone into trouble. But it was so hard to think. She felt sleepy and confused, not to mention thoroughly intimidated. She was still trying to clear her head when gentle, ebony-eyed Captain Tamara approached.

"All is well, Gwenna," the black woman said, in her soft voice. "We've recaptured most of the children. They couldn't outrun our steeds. The boy Juba said they only wanted food. He is safe in my tent."

"Ah ha!" Gwenna cried triumphantly. "Bring the boy here, and I will _question_ him about this knife."

"No!" Arwen felt cold fingers of dread run down her spine. She was afraid of Gwenna. But Juba was just a little boy.

"What did you say, elf-woman?" Gwenna looked as though she would relish the chance to vent her rage on Arwen.

"I said . . . the knife is mine." Arwen took a deep breath. Her knees were actually shaking. "I set the children free."

The blonde knocked her down with a single backhand swipe.

"Strip her," Gwenna said calmly to her companion. "Tie her between those date palms. Let her stand there naked till sunrise. Then I'll give her a whipping she'll never forget."

"Captain Gwenna, this gentle lady is of the elvish race. She is a diplomat. It is madness to punish her without cause!" Though her voice remained soft and her words polite, outrage was written all over gentle Tamara's kind dark face.

"It's all right, Captain." Arwen stood up slowly, her head high. "I am proud to be whipped in the children's place. When the facts are known, I am sure that Zuleika, the ruler of the city of Zin Zaraboob, will punish the evil Captain Gwenna."

"She has more nerve than you, Tamara," the blonde captain sneered. "Now tie her up – or take her place."

"No, that's just foolish." The slim dark beauty gave in with a sigh. When the work was done, she turned to her commander. "I'll go and find the other children now, before it's too dark. Surely you'll want them here to watch in the morning?"

"Clever girl." Gwenna laughed, as though relishing her subordinate's fear. Then she turned to Arwen. "We're all alone now, elf-girl. Aren't you going to beg for mercy?"

"I'm not afraid of you," Arwen lied, through chattering teeth. The desert air grew chilly as the sun set. "You're the one who's afraid. You hurt others only to hide your fear!"

"I am afraid," Gwenna told her. "You see, I love my country, and Zin Zaraboob is being overrun by dark-skinned apes and yellow monkeys. You're just one more symptom of the spreading disease. And tomorrow morning, you'll find out how it feels to be _really_ afraid."

Arwen hung her head. Her lower lip was bleeding badly. For the first time in her life, she felt true despair. The tall blonde captain walked off laughing. When she was alone, the gentle captive wept. She wept not only for herself, but for Tamara and the children.

She even shed a tear for cruel Ling Kray, the selfish and greedy pirate who died trying to keep her safe.


	10. The Golden City

CHAPTER TEN: The Golden City

"Now, you pointed-eared freak, beg for your life!" Gwenna gloated over her captive with a sadistic leer. Dawn had come and the caravan was ready to move on. But first everyone gathered at the edge of the oasis to watch the whipping.

"You don't scare me," Arwen Evenstar mumbled, through cracked lips caked with dried blood. All night long she had hung suspended between two palm trees, refusing to give in to the cruel captain's torments. And her courage had not been in vain. Gwenna had been so busy bullying her that the other slaves had been left alone. Juba had stolen food for them, and then slipped away into the desert. The good Captain Tamara had recaptured him, but towards morning they had both gone off again to search for other stragglers. Now there were only a few fat merchants and cruel caravan guards to witness the whipping of the beautiful elf.

"Make it easy on yourself," Gwenna jeered, turning the whip the slowly in her hands. "Tell me what Ling Kray the pirate was doing with the frog people. Are they planning some sort of uprising against our queen, Zuleika of Zin Zaraboob?"

"I hope so," Arwen muttered. "But I doubt it. Ling Kray is dead." It was funny feeling sorry for the rogue who had kidnapped her. But he'd been gentle and almost caring compared to Gwenna. During the night Arwen had even imagined he was standing by her and giving her strength!

"You really _enjoyed_ being kissed by that pirate, didn't you?" Gwenna jeered. "But I guarantee you won't enjoy this. By the time I'm finished. . ."

"HOLD!"

More than a dozen armed men entered the oasis camp. They were not in chain-mail, like the border guards, but rather wearing pointed shoes, colorful red vests and baggy trousers. Yet they were all carrying swords, and their plump leader wore a curious gold-tasseled red cap on his head.

"I am Omar, vizier and counselor to Zuleika of the Shifting Sands." The fat little man with the waxed mustache bowed formally to Arwen. "If you are the Lady Arwen Evenstar, then I am here to escort you to the royal palace in Zin Zaraboob."

"She's our prisoner," Gwenna snarled, as the counselor's men were cutting Arwen free of her bonds. "We were ordered to bring all suspicious characters in ourselves!"

"Your rough methods have gone too far, Captain." Omar said sternly. "Her Majesty is not pleased. You and Captain Tamara will return to your patrol on the southern border at once. However, the lady Tamara is now in command."

"I'm not taking orders from any dark-skinned underling," Gwenna sneered.

Captain Tamara gripped her sword-hilt. "You and I will settle this after Arwen and the vizier have gone."

"Tamara, don't!" Arwen hated cruel blonde Gwenna, yet she respected gentle, soft-spoken Tamara. In crying out to the black woman, she was only trying to prevent more needless suffering and death. But after a sleepless night with no food or drink her voice was barely a croak.

"This does not concern you, lady." The little man quickly threw a cloak around Arwen, concealing her nakedness as he led her to a curtained traveling vehicle carried by slaves.

"Many people have been hurt by Captain Gwenna," Arwen protested, feeling dazed as Omar helped her into the vehicle. It was only now hitting her that she was safe. Breathing in the scent of perfume, she fell on soft cushions.

"You will make a full report to Zuleika when we reach Zin Zaraboob," the vizier told her. "You would be wise to explain your own presence in the swamps, as well as the whereabouts of your pirate companions. Of course, you will need to rest before you present yourself. Here, drink this."

"Zuleika's going to hear plenty from me," Arwen grumbled. Propping herself on one elbow, she drank deeply from a silver goblet. The foamy beverage was sweet and cool, thick enough to kill the pangs of hunger while quenching her thirst.

"Yes, of course. Zuleika will expect nothing but the truth." Omar took the empty goblet from her hand, making a polite little bow as he closed the curtains. Arwen could tell he didn't believe her story. He wasn't _really_ on her side, any more than Gwenna or Tamara or anyone else she'd met since setting sail from Lothlorien. How long ago that seemed now!

Just then there was a heavy jolt, as brawny slaves lifted Arwen's litter onto their shoulders. Lying back among the cushions, the elf-maiden had the strangest feeling that she was back at sea. The curtained litter was like a ship, rising and falling with every wave. Arwen closed her eyes and drifted off to worlds unknown. Before long she was dreaming of blue water and pirate adventures . . . and of Ling Kray.

Zin Zaraboob was a fortified city, surrounded by thick walls, with armed guards at every gate. They stopped and thoroughly searched every caravan that entered the city. The commotion woke Arwen from a very deep sleep.

"Who's in there?" shouted a hoarse male voice. Too startled to respond, Arwen clutched for a silk robe or a blanket, anything to cover her naked form. All she had was a round cushion which she plopped into her lap. Her heart was pounding as she sat up, one slim hand shielding her bosom.

"Do not look inside," ordered the voice of Omar. "That is all that remains of a soldier killed by flesh-eating plague in the deep swamps. The horrible plague spreads quickly, and we must take the body to Zuleika so she can find a cure."

"Very well, carry on at once!" Through the curtains Arwen saw the guard salute with the tip of his long spear, and she stifled a smile. That little Omar was certainly a quick thinker! But why didn't he just say she was a diplomat on a mission? Why would Zuleika's high counselor lie to the city guard?

Arwen was dying to learn more about Zin Zaraboob. As her covered litter passed through the crowded streets, she tried to peep through the curtains without being seen. Most of the people she saw were obviously well-fed and prosperous, the men wearing tall red caps like Omar's and the women all in black with their faces veiled. Now and then, however, she saw younger women riding in litters like hers. They wore silks and jewels, and displayed their faces with freedom. Arwen wished she could talk to them. There was so much she needed to learn if her mission was to be a success!

Soon the streets grew wider and quieter. Arwen peeked ahead. High atop a hill was a great palace topped by a golden dome. They were stopped again, and this time the gate guards were female captains like Gwenna and Tamara.

"Omar, welcome back," called a laughing female voice. "Have you brought home a special treat for Zuleika?"

"My name is Arwen, daughter of Elrond, and I am an important diplomat, _not_ a special treat." This time Arwen refused to leave things in the little man's hands. She threw open the curtains and stuck her head out, not caring who heard her indignation or even who saw her naked form!

"Our apologies, great lady." The leader of the guards bowed low. She was a tall red-headed woman with an open, smiling face. Yet her nose wrinkled as she approached the litter. "With all due respect to your diplomatic mission, would you object to taking a hot bath before you see our great queen? You stink like a goat!"

"You try running through the swamps to escape from pirates, and then being marched through the desert for a week." Arwen was determined not to show fear or ask forgiveness. She met the captain's eye with a steady gaze. The beautiful red-head was impressed.

"Welcome to the Golden City, brave lady. It is high time that Zuleika had a true account of the unearthly terrors of the foul swamp."

The captain clapped her hands, and two younger girls came rushing up with slippers and a silk robe. As they guided her into the cool, tree-shaded inner courtyard, Arwen managed a last backward glance at Omar the high counselor.

The little man was already giving orders for her litter to be thoroughly cleaned.


	11. One Way Or Another

CHAPTER ELEVEN: One Way Or Another

"Lady Arwen, it is time for you to present yourself. Lady Arwen!" The soft voice was followed by a gentle shake. "Queen Zuleika of Zin Zaraboob will see you now."

"Yes, of course. Thank you for waking me." Arwen recognized the frail, elderly servant in black who bowed to her. But she didn't remember falling into deep slumber. Just moments ago the room had been full of women, young and old. The giggly young girls who scrubbed away weeks of grime while she bathed soon passed her off into the care of several older women. They painted her nails, arranged her hair, and applied soothing ointments to her skin. Strong skilled hands rubbed tired and aching muscles, relaxing her. Afterwards she must have slept for hours, not just minutes. Now it was time to think about what had happened to her _before_ she arrived in Zin Zaraboob, the city of pleasure!

"Pirates." Zuleika of the Shifting Sands repeated the plain, simple word as if it were the name of some absurd, mythical beast. "You say it was pirates who carried you off against your will, and took all the gifts and tribute from Queen Galadriel. And so here you are, empty-handed."

"That is correct, yes." Arwen squirmed in her seat, uncomfortably aware of the symbolic value of the missing gifts. This was an awkward start to her diplomatic mission. Without treasure and tribute, what reason did the ruler of Zin Zaraboob have to take the proposed alliance seriously? Already Arwen felt her cheeks burning with embarrassment and shame. Though opulently furnished, the queen's musty, cluttered office suddenly seemed unbearably hot, the humid night air stifling instead of cool.

"Death is usually pretty certain when one meets a merciless pirate," Zuleika observed, in a soft voice. "Given the circumstances, your survival is positively miraculous. Would you care for a little more wine, Lady Arwen?"

"Yes, thank you." Arwen licked dry lips, watching as the queen poured wine into a gold goblet. "I ran from Ling Kray at the earliest opportunity," she shrugged, raising her goblet. "I fled through the swamp at the risk of drowning – or being dragged to a far more terrifying death by monsters of the deep." The elf-maiden gulped her wine, remembering how the slimy, slithery tentacles had whipped out and seized her.

"Ah, yes. My border captains told me that they saw Ling Kray dragged underwater by some sort of creature. Yet they were unable to recover my treasure. I suppose it's at the bottom of the sea. Unless someone else got hold of it in the swamps?"

"Well – I think Ling Kray's men sailed away with most of it." Arwen could see that Zuleika valued wealth above all things. Heavy gold bracelets jangled on the queen's flabby arms. Her thick fingers were adorned with diamonds and rubies. A life of pleasure showed plainly in her sagging facial features, and in the broad contours of her heavy but shapely build.

Yet for all these reassuring signs of human weakness, the elvish maiden sensed an uncanny aura of power about the woman. In spite of her double chin and flabby face, Zuleika looked dangerous. Her dark brown eyes were sharp and clear. And Arwen Evenstar was not about to tattle on the innocent frog-creatures, who after all had done her no harm.

"Don't lie to me, girl!" The queen thumped her ringed hand hard on the cluttered desk. The sound made Arwen jump.

"I'm not lying to you!" she cried breathlessly. "I don't have – I mean I didn't have any gold or jewelry on me when the patrol captured me. You can ask your counselor Omar." Arwen was glad she remembered the man's name. But her cheeks burned, for she remembered being stark naked when he rescued her. At the moment all she owned were borrowed garments, given to her when she awoke. The blue satin trousers and the skimpy blue and gold string top were comfortable enough, but far more revealing than anything she would have worn in her father's house. Of course, just wearing these things put her in debt to the sorcerer-queen. The rings and jewels and jingling bracelets were even worse!

"Omar says you were quite willing to surrender yourself. But Gwenna and Tamara both report that you were a willing partner of Ling Kray," Queen Zuleika informed her briskly. "They stated that when they captured you the pirate was not killing you – he was kissing you! And you were kissing back."

"He'd just saved me from being eaten alive by a monster!" Arwen protested, feeling a fresh wave of heat rise to her cheeks. "I was his prisoner for days, forced to obey him. I hated the man with a passion, and I told him so!"

"Yes, of course." The majestic older woman with the tightly curled red-brown hair gave Arwen a knowing sort of look. "Be careful, my dear. When dealing with a man like Ling Kray, one sort of passion can lead very quickly to another."

"Not when he's dead as fish bait." Arwen meant to sound snarky, not sad, but a ripple of loneliness went through her. Her eyes filled with tears, and she fought to hold them back.

"You're tired," the queen told her. "Rest. We'll talk trade in the morning. My treasury needs filling – one way or another."


	12. On The Waterfront

CHAPTER TWELVE: On The Waterfront

Queen Zuleika had dismissed Arwen as she would a child. The elvish maid was ordered to go to her room and rest, yet tonight sleep was elusive. After tossing and turning for hours, Arwen Evenstar rose from a soft bed of regal splendor and strolled to the window.

Night was still and sultry in the city of Zin Zaraboob. As she rested her elbows on the window ledge, the tall elvish maiden tried to see the first signs of dawn on the horizon. But all she saw were twinkling stars and quiet empty streets.

Gradually she became aware of soft sounds of lamentation. The faint chanting would scarcely have been perceptible to human hearing, but Arwen had the sensitive ears of her kind and could detect mere whispers from a great distance.

The mourners were all women, dressed in black. They were walking in the narrow lane just outside the palace walls, and as she listened the words of mournful loss and supplication slowly became clear.

_Dear to us you were, _

_Vanished men of yore._

_Spells that hold you fast,_

_Will set you free once more._

_An army without fear, _

_Sparkling and clear. _

The small, sad procession drifted off into the darkness before the puzzled elf-maiden could make sense of their haunting riddle. Was there an army coming to make war against powerful Queen Zuleika? An army of sparkling men? Bright armor sparkled, but even polished metal wasn't clear.

Arwen finally turned away from the window with a shrug. She would investigate the matter thoroughly in the morning. Though Zuleika had been kind so far, something told her that the ruler of Zin Zaraboob was not what she appeared to be. As she fell face-downwards into her welcoming pillow, the elvish maid resolved to remain wary and alert at all times. She didn't want to end up like Prince Kassim, who had vanished from the palace in a manner most mysterious. . .

The next morning, the queen gave orders that Arwen was to be permitted to inspect the royal docks personally.

"I just want you to see that we're not allowing weapons or troops for Sauron to pass through our port," Zuleika clarified, when the elf-maid was ushered into her audience room after a late breakfast in bed. "Captain Margo here will see to it that you have full access to all the ships in the harbor."

"You are most generous Your Majesty," Arwen replied. She was well aware that she had no right to search any ships. And as dashing Captain Margo rode with her to the docks, she wondered what Queen Zuleika would ask for in return.

"Tell me, Margo, why are there no men in the city?" Arwen wished that she were riding on horseback, like her escort, instead of being carried in a covered litter by slaves. Lying on cushions made it hard to see what was happening around her. Even if she just wanted to talk she had to prop herself up on one elbow and push aside the flimsy silk curtains.

"Oh, there are plenty of men around, beautiful lady," laughed the voluptuous, red-haired female captain. "Slaves and counselors and such. What we haven't got around here are the warriors, the nobility. The ones who like giving orders! You see, we only like men who know their place."

"Yes, I see." Arwen shuddered behind her screen of curtains. It was clear that Zuleika had used magic to rid the city of any male who might challenge her authority. Yet all the women were clearly on her side – except for the mysterious mourners she had seen last night. Who were they? How could she get in touch with them? Did they know what had happened to Prince Kassim?

Whatever her thoughts on men, Captain Margo proved to be very helpful on the waterfront. The two of them searched over a dozen vessels from stem to stern, not only pacing the deck but going down into the darkest reaches of the hold. Once or twice they came across lustrous freshwater pearls collected by the frog-creatures, which for some reason made Arwen very sad. Yet they never found weapons or anything of use to the Dark Lord of Mordor or his evil Orc minions.

"So this Sauron fellow is really a bad character?" Margo asked her, as the two of them were eating their noon meal. Arwen had insisted that the beautiful redhead share the shade of her curtained litter, and her cold repast as well.

"Yes, if he should conquer Middle Earth he will subject all good creatures to the most horrible torments." Arwen reached for the small jug of wine in the basket beside her. She had never tasted spiced fowl so delicious in all her life, but it made her very thirsty.

"Sounds like a typical male," Margo joked. "And does this Sauron have a wife?"

Arwen frowned. "He has no wife. He is too evil to have need of a wife. He exists only as a force of pure malevolence. His only desire is to possess the One Ring. . ."

"So he doesn't beat his wife, then." Margo gnawed on a drumstick. "Does he cheat poor men, or women and kids? Does he waste their bread and cheese money on wine?"

"He doesn't do any of those things!" Arwen sensed the shapely redhead was mocking her. She sipped her wine, trying to collect her thoughts. "Sauron is a great lord, or was, when he was a living being with a visible form. But now he leaves those sordid crimes to his Orc armies."

"These Orcs," Margo asked. "Do they have wives and children?"

"Well . . . Orcs can't reproduce. I think the dark powers spawned them in some way. But they're cruel and greedy!"

"They can't make babies, and they don't want women. Why should they want gold and jewelry? What will they spend it on? And Sauron – he has no body at all, right?"

"They're all evil and they want to conquer the world!" Arwen glared at the other girl, and then gulped the rest of her wine. It was maddening to have to argue about something that should have been obvious to all the races of Middle Earth.

Margo poured herself some wine too. "Look, honey. Don't be angry with me. It's just that you're a stranger here. You don't know how it used to be. Your Sauron never beat his wife, or drank away his family's future, or forced his daughter to marry a man she didn't love. Well, we used to have a whole city full of men who did those things. And now we don't."

"I don't understand." Arwen felt a bit dizzy, both from wine and from strange new ideas. "Are you saying you don't care if the Dark Lord defeats the fair races of Middle Earth?"

"No, I'm not." Margo refilled Arwen's wine cup. "What I'm saying is that here in Zin Zaraboob we had problems you don't have, so we solved those problems in our own way. And you need to understand us a lot better before you begin judging our laws – or our queen."

"So then . . . respect is important. Just like the One Ring." Arwen shook her head, feeling muddled. "We need to keep searching these ships, though. It's very important!"

"Sure, we'll get back to it. Better rest a while first, though. This afternoon is going to be a real scorcher!"

"I'm not afraid of a little heat," Arwen declared. The wine was making her boastful. "If they'd let me I'd fight Sauron myself – I'd march right into the fires of Mount Doom!"

"Me too!" Margo grinned as Arwen downed the rest of her wine. The elven maid giggled, and soon they were both laughing their heads off in spite of the noonday heat.


	13. Pendant of Power

CHAPTER THIRTEEN: Pendant of Power

Arwen knew she had searched only a small portion of ships in the harbor of Zin Zaraboob. Yet by the end of the day she felt certain that Queen Zuleika was not smuggling weapons or supplies to Sauron. The search had been strenuous, and her helpers had been thorough in spite of the scorching heat.

"Good Captain Margo, thank you for all your help." The tall, raven-haired elf-maiden tripped lightly down the gangplank of the small cargo ship, pleased to see that the curtained litter was waiting to carry her back to the royal palace.

"Think nothing of it, Princess Evening Star." The shapely red-head in gleaming armor grinned as she parted the curtains and helped the elvish ambassador into her litter. "After a day on the docks, sweating in this heat, tomorrow's archery practice will seem just like a walk in the park!"

"Do all the women of the city train with weapons as you do?" Arwen was really very curious about how Queen Zuleika had recruited her all-female army. She lay down on the soft cushions with a sigh, grateful to be finished with her labors.

"Not all the women, just the chosen," Margo said proudly. "Tomorrow you can watch us training, and then you'll understand why our city doesn't need men for protection."

"I look forward to that," Arwen replied politely, but Margo did not seem to hear. She was shouting for the slaves to lift up the litter, and giving orders for the escort to get underway.

Accustomed to freedom and open air, the elvish maid felt uneasy about being carried home in curtained seclusion. Yet from what she could hear, the streets of the city were quiet.

Daytime was for work, it seemed, while evening was for rest.

Perhaps in the morning she could explore the city on her own. It was important to determine whether the people of the city were really happy with the new government – and whether anyone knew the whereabouts of Prince Kassim.

Arwen was sleeping behind her curtains by the time the slaves set down her cushioned litter in the palace courtyard. Omar the high counselor came bustling up to her at once.

"Honored lady, if you are not too fatigued, Her Majesty Queen Zuleika would like to see you in her reception room."

"I'm not fatigued at all." Arwen frowned, ignoring the little man's outstretched hand as she jumped down from the litter. She knew the queen would want to hear about the search, but she had not expected to be summoned with such haste. She would have preferred to bathe and maybe rest a bit first.

But those things would have to wait. Straightening her slim white shoulders, the Daughter of Elrond pushed all distractions from her mind as she walked down the corridor, her pointed slippers slapping softly on the cool marble floor.

"Ah, there you are." Queen Zuleika was wearing a sumptuous dark red gown and a turban studded with jewels. Her sagging, lined face was heavily painted. "Tonight there is to be a great feast, and I hope you will attend as my honored guest. There will be lavish entertainment. Please, sit down and let me pour you a goblet of ice-chilled wine."

"That's very kind of you," Arwen replied, dropping into a low, deep-cushioned chair and pasting on a suitable smile. In truth a noisy public feast sounded like work, not pleasure.

"Naturally there will be plenty of times for you to rest and freshen up before our guests arrive," the queen assured her, rising from her gilded chair as Arwen sank back in hers. "But before you go upstairs and relax I wanted to be certain you were entirely satisfied with our city's neutrality."

"Yes, I searched all the ships in the harbor very thoroughly." Arwen felt a little uncomfortable, for she knew she was exaggerating the extent of her search. But she quickly reminded herself that the ships she had boarded were all free of weapons. _I've done my part_, she told herself, ignoring her guilty conscience and draining her golden wine goblet.

"I am most impressed with your energy," Zuleika said drily, drawing several scrolls, parchments and writing implements out of a small black cabinet. "While you were hard at work this afternoon we drew up a complete trade agreement between your kingdom and hours. First of course we need your signature on a friendship treaty."

"Shouldn't we sign the friendship treaty after we discuss the trade agreement?" Arwen didn't mean to delay, but she had no idea what promises a friendship treaty might involve.

"Oh, these documents merely pledge an exchange of gifts – like the clothes and jewels I've given you to wear around the palace." Queen Zuleika gave the young ambassador a wry smile as she leaned over her chair, presenting a parchment. "You just sign here, and then off you go to your own room. There's still time for a hot bath and a rest before dinner."

"Well . . . if you're sure it's just an exchange of gifts." Arwen grabbed the quill pen and scribbled her name, anxious to get upstairs and relax in a hot bath. Just then she noticed something very peculiar about the queen's jangling jewelry.

Zuleika wore over a dozen flashy necklaces and bracelets. Yet when she was presenting the parchment, standing so close that Arwen could smell her musky perfume, the elf-maiden's dark blue eyes were immediately drawn to one necklace above all the rest. This one was not made of jade or sapphires or rubies. It was merely a long line of glass beads, all strung together, each one a tiny soldier in armor.

_An army without fear, sparkling and clear . . ._

"Is something the matter, my dear?" Zuleika pursed her painted lips in satisfaction as the elvish ambassador dropped her pen. Yet the older woman's brown eyes were keen and piercing, almost hungry, like a hawk closing in on her prey.

"No, no, nothing the matter!" Arwen was certain that the song she'd heard at midnight described the very necklace she now saw before her. Were the men of Zin Zaraboob still living, yet trapped inside the queen's glittering glass beads?

"Ah, you wish to see my pendant of power," replied the older woman, laughing. "Here, look deep into the glowing center."

"Yes, it's very beautiful," Arwen said politely. She really didn't see anything very special about the amber pendant nestled in the narrow crevice between Zuleika's large, full breasts. Yet below the murky surface there was a tiny golden spark, flickering and elusive. Something deep inside called to her.

"You are tired," Zuleika told her. "You are very tired. Sleep."

"What?" Arwen broke eye contact with the stone, wondering what had hit her. She felt as if she had just learned something very important, but could not recall what it was.

"Tired," the queen was saying. "Sleep."

"Yes, that's it." Arwen sighed with relief. She was really just very tired.


	14. The Missing Bracelet

CHAPTER FOURTEEN: The Missing Bracelet

Arwen slept late on the morning after the great feast. It was very exciting to be the guest of honor in Zuleika's palace, but the elvish maiden wished she had more time to herself. There were so many treaties and meetings and ceremonies, it was hard to maintain an energetic pace.

"Hey, wake up! You're supposed to come watch the queen's royal guard practice their archery this morning, remember?"

"Margo?" Arwen turned over on her pillows, surprised at how silently the shapely red-haired captain slipped into her room. Arwen had entirely failed to hear her enter, though elvish hearing was ordinarily much better than that of mortals. But then, few elvish maidens had ever danced on table tops at midnight to the cheers of the desert queen's all-female army!

"Come on, elf-girl! I told Zuleika how much the other captains want to show our loyalty and friendship towards you. Last night you were totally wild. You really knocked us for a loop!"

"Uh . . . thanks, I think." Arwen sat up in bed, wishing that all the wine from last night hadn't given her such a headache. "Listen, Margo, would you go and get me one of your military outfits to wear? I really don't want to go outside in any of the slinky, shimmery, see-through stuff the queen gave me, even though it's all very lovely I'm sure."

"Oh sure, I know just what you mean. What's the point in a revealing get-up when there's no one here but us girls?" Margo winked and punched Arwen lightly on the arm. "You just get yourself together, beautiful, and Margo will be back with something trim and military for you to wear. I sure wouldn't mind having a soldier like you in my company!"

As soon as Margo was out of the room Arwen flung open the carved wooden chest at the foot of the bed. Last night she'd gone a little overboard, what with the wine and the dancing and seemingly making a complete spectacle of herself. But she had managed to convince the other girls that she was really enjoying herself here in Zin Zaraboob. And she had also gotten her hands on one of Zuleika's glittering bracelets.

Arwen didn't know if the flashing jewels in this bracelet controlled the clear beads the queen wore around her neck. But one or two times she had seen Zuleika rubbing the jewels on her favorite bracelet between her fingers, as though they held some secret power. And each time she touched the beads at her throat as well. If the necklace held the souls of captive enemies, perhaps the bracelet was an energy source for the queen's dark magic!

"Stones of power," the Daughter of Elrond whispered, closing her eyes as she slipped the bracelet over her wrist. "Help me undo the queen's magic and find Prince Kassim!"

Not much happened, and when cheerful Margo came back into the room whistling Arwen only just managed to hide the bracelet in time. One of the red rubies did seem to flicker for a second, but Arwen put that down to her own imagination.

"Excellent shooting, Arwen Evenstar." Queen Zuleika's husky voice sounded bored and lazy in the afternoon heat. "Come join me here in the shade."

"The ladies of your royal guard are the finest archers I have ever seen," Arwen exclaimed, bending low to enter the silken pavilion where the queen lay resting on a soft low couch. A similar cushioned couch had been set up for Arwen herself.

"They can protect me from harm," the queen acknowledged. "But they cannot protect me from treachery."

"Treachery?" Arwen felt a bit nervous at the way the powerful older woman's well-plucked red-gold brows knitted in a frown. It was a very hot afternoon, and she felt a trickle of sweat slide down her spine.

"Yes, I fear that even a queen who shares her wealth and splendor willingly with can be wronged, or even robbed." Zuleika's plump, bejeweled hand hovered over the small, round table that lay between their two couches. "Would you like me to pour you some wine, my dear?"

"I'd . . . I'd prefer to drink water, if you have any. And perhaps some fresh fruit to go along with it?"

"You were the toast of the banquet last night, my dear," the queen commented, snapping her fingers for Arwen's refreshment. "When you clapped on all those bracelets and silken veils, and danced around the tables, the girls in my guard went absolutely wild. You've become a hero to them, I think. A rebel. Someone who enjoys being a little bad."

"They are all devoted to you, Your Majesty," Arwen said diplomatically, sipping her water. "But after all, young women who work so hard are entitled to a little recreation now and then. And with no men around and so much discipline . . ." the elf-maiden shrugged her slim shoulders, and selected some tempting fruit from a golden bowl. The female soldiers were now busy doing calisthenics in the hot sun, under the strict but good-natured supervision of her friend Margo.

"Ah, yes." The queen eyed her palace guard with pride. "Captain Margo is the most delightful girl, isn't she? So cheerful and full of fun. It would be a shame if she were the one to be punished for the missing bracelet."

"The missing bracelet?" Arwen nearly choked on the pulpy, sweet red fruit she'd been devouring.

"Yes, apparently one of my bracelets vanished last night during all the merry-making. The others were just trinkets, the type my girls trade back and forth. But not this one."

"I see." Arwen looked at Queen Zuleika's ripe, heavy figure, which was adorned with every type of precious jewel. As soft and lazy as she looked, however, the queen was no fool. Some of her powers came from the jewels, but others did not. "Perhaps the bracelet was simply misplaced by accident? Surely it will turn up in a day or two."

"I do hope so," the queen said, giving her guest a glance. "Otherwise sweet Captain Margo may have to suffer for her negligence. She is in charge of palace security, after all."

"But that's not fair!" Arwen felt torn. She couldn't confess to stealing the bracelet without revealing her secret mission. But she couldn't let Margo be punished either. The headache she'd had earlier suddenly came roaring back.

"I am a kind and generous woman, Lady Arwen Evenstar. But I don't like thieves."

"No, of course not. It's just . . . last night was really crazy." Arwen was rubbing her temples with the tips of her fingers.

The queen chuckled. "Perhaps if you go to your room and lie down, you'll remember what became of the missing bracelet. A little sleep does wonders for a headache, don't you think?"


	15. The Trap Door

CHAPTER FIFTEEN: The Trap Door

Overwhelming relief swept over Arwen the moment she escaped from the intensive scrutiny of Zuleika. All she wanted now was to get back to her room and find that cursed bracelet and give it right back – and then forget all about suspicions and intrigue for the rest of the afternoon. The tall, shapely elf-maiden rubbed her eyes as she strolled down the hall, her sandals slapping on the cool marble floor. As soon as the bracelet was returned, she'd go lie down. She needed quiet time, and maybe a wink or two of sleep.

Strangely enough, when she fished the serpent-shaped gold bracelet out of its hiding place the rubies were all winking and glowing. Arwen frowned, certain her tired eyes were playing tricks on her. But no, the red stones were all flashing and twinkling as if by magic!

With her heart in her mouth, Arwen clattered out into the hall, half-afraid that Queen Zuleika would punish her for activating the magic by mistake. But as soon as she took her first few steps the lights all winked out. The elf-maid skidded to a halt, peering down at the ruby-studded bracelet on her wrist. Could it be that she was meant to turn back around?

Arwen swiftly discovered that her suspicion was correct. The red stones winked and blinked as she headed towards her room, but shut down at once when she turned towards Queen Zuleika's royal apartments. The stones were leading her somewhere. There was no question about it!

Inside her room, she turned left and right, looking for some talisman or a further clue. But the single stone now winking on her bracelet seemed to flash most rapidly when she stepped into her big walk-in closet!

"Am I supposed to try on all my outfits until I find one that makes me irresistible?" The brave elf-maid laughed at her own joke, though by now her nerves were slightly on edge. In truth Arwen had no interest in the shimmering finery Queen Zuleika had showered on her as an honored guest. All she could think of was that inside her closet there had to be some sort of secret passage or a trap door!

Arwen found the trap door in the floor of her closet just by stamping until she heard a hollow sound. The magic stones provided light as she descended the winding stairs past many other doorways to the lower levels of the palace.

At last she came to a tunnel below the palace. It was a very musty, ancient-looking passage, and as she crept along Arwen heard the skittering of rats and felt cobwebs tickling her nose. But more uncanny and unsettling than all of that was the strange sound of rushing water beneath her feet!

"Water in the desert?" The elf-maiden's puzzlement grew as she crept down the ancient passageway to a dim glow. Someone still used this subterranean corridor. She sensed a paved, lighted hallway up ahead. And now she beheld what she had truly been seeking ever since she first came to the palace of Queen Zuleika in the city of Zin Zaraboob.

The two guards were huge, muscle-bound men, their chests bare, with giant curved swords strapped to their sides. Arwen wasn't quite sure why Queen Zuleika would rely on secret male guards after boasting so often of the loyalty of her all-female palace troops. But the clever daughter of Elrond knew very well that such men would only be on duty if a most valuable prisoner was confined in the underground cell behind them.

And she knew who the prisoner had to be.

Arwen was elated by her discovery. At last she had lived up to the high hopes of Queen Galadriel. She had located the missing prince! But then reality came crashing in once more. Unarmed, she was no match for two big burly male guards. And even if she overcame them, where would she go?

While she was pondering what to do next, the nervous elf-maid happened to take off her glowing, serpent-shaped bracelet and squeeze it so that the two ends met. The mouth of the serpent touched the tail of the serpent and instantly a thin red beam shot forth. The guard closest to her vanished.

"Ah ha!" Arwen pointed and squeezed the bracelet again, and the second guard disappeared. Now things were really beginning to happen! She ran forward and peered into the dimly-lit prison cell, truly happy for the first time in days.

"Who are you?" The chubby little boy with the big dark eyes didn't look very happy to see her. He was eating a giant fruit pie, and his round face was smeared and sticky-looking.

"Do not be afraid," Arwen urged, in a low voice. She directed a red beam of light at the locked cell door. "I am Arwen of Rivendell. I have been sent by the Lady of Light, Galadriel of Lothlorien. I have come to rescue you, Prince Kassim."

"But . . . but . . . the prophecies said I was to be rescued by a mighty warrior!"

"Oh, really? Well it so happens . . ." Suddenly Arwen heard angry male voices and the sound of running footsteps.

And then Prince Kassim started to cry.


	16. Fancy Meeting You Here

CHAPTER SIXTEEN: Fancy Meeting You Here

"We've got to get out of here!" Arwen Evenstar didn't give spoiled Prince Kassim any time to think. The elf-maiden snatched the fat little boy in her arms and ran, with the guards in hot pursuit.

The little prince was heavier than he looked. Arwen had no idea where she was going. Queen Zuleika's guards hadn't seen her up close, but they seemed to be gaining on her.

"How do we get out of here?" she hissed into the boy's ear.

"Down below – legends of great serpents – maybe they won't follow us into the lower depths!" Kassim had stopped crying, but he was still trembling in her arms. "We're going to die, aren't we? Either the guards will kill us or those creatures in the stories will eat us!"

"They'd get a fine meal out of you," Arwen panted, as they dodged into a side tunnel. Rescuing Kassim had been the whole purpose of her mission – the reason she'd come to the sinful city of Zin Zaraboob. Yet now that she'd met him, she really wondered whether it was worth all the danger. Those brutal guards hadn't seen her yet, but if they caught her Queen Zuleika would surely either kill her at once or do something far worse to her with magic.

"It's so dark!" The fat boy wailed. "Where are we . . . _urk__!"_

Someone had snatched the little prince right out of her arms. Arwen whirled, but in the darkness it was impossible to see. And then someone grabbed her from behind as well.

"Fancy meeting you here," said a low husky voice in her ear.

"Ling Kray!" Arwen stiffened in shock and disbelief as the wicked pirate she thought long dead clapped a hand over her mouth and a strong arm around her waist, pulling her back into total darkness.

"What on earth – how did you get here?" Arwen whispered, after the thundering footsteps of the guards had passed. "How did you survive the swamps – and that creature – and _how_ did you cross the desert? And _where_ is Prince Kassim?"

"I'm right here," cried the little boy, his voice far too loud. "There's a lady holding me, but I can't tell . . ."

"That's enough," Ling Kray commanded, in a low whisper. "Everyone keep quiet and follow me. You, take my hand."

Arwen felt her cheeks burn in the darkness as Ling Kray squeezed her hand in a tight grip. Now that the danger of being captured by the guards was passed, she had time to remember all that had happened while she was the pirate's prisoner in the steamy swamps. Ling Kray had both treated her cruelly and awakened her passions, and she had ended the strange relationship only by running blindly away. It was hard to believe she had done such mad reckless things, even in captivity. Would Ling Kray want to pick up where they left off?

Of course it was easy to blame the sudden racing of her pulse on the darkness and danger. Ling Kray kept leading them down, lower and lower, deep into the earth. Arwen clutched his hand tightly, realizing after a time that she could hear rushing water in the dark. An underground river, she thought, and then it seemed that she could see a faint greenish glow somewhere ahead. The eerie light was oddly calming, even though the ancient stones beneath them were getting more and more slippery. By the time Ling Kray ushered them into the partially submerged cavern the cuffs of her baggy trousers were sopping wet, and she was wading in water up to her ankles.

"Those are eggs!" She exclaimed, looking around in awe as Ling Kray helped her onto a wide stone ledge that was still high and dry. Everywhere she looked clusters of bright green eggs clung to wet rocks and glowed beneath the water. "I get it . . . all these eggs must have been laid by the Frog Children, the _miri-squaramiri_. But how did you . . ."

"Welcome to the Chamber of Tomorrow," the pirate replied, releasing her hand after a final squeeze. He gave a small bow to the young prince. "We hope Your Highness will be comfortable here until your army is ready to hatch."

"Of course!" Prince Kassim sprang forward as the woman carrying him set him down on the ledge. He grabbed Ling Kray's powerful hand in both of his and squeezed eagerly. "You're Ling Kray, the pirate everyone sings about! I'll bet you're the hero who was foretold, to come from other lands and help me reclaim my throne!"

"Not everyone sings about him," Arwen said sharply, her hands on her hips. "Besides, I was the one who rescued you." She felt a strange irritation at the way the little boy took such an instant liking to the bronzed pirate.

"The elvish lady speaks the truth," Ling Kray told Kassim. "You owe her your thanks. And you owe this lady thanks as well. Her name is Captain Tamara, of the palace guard."

"Tamara!" Joy rose up in Arwen's heart as she recognized the noble black warrior at last. "I thought you died in the desert! How did you – why did you – I don't understand . . ."

"It is good to see you again, lady," the woman warrior said softly. She squeezed Arwen's hand.

"The two of you are both brave and beautiful," Prince Kassim said graciously. "When I am ruler of the city I will honor you." He turned to the pirate. "And I will always follow your advice, for you are the great Ling Kray."

"I am Ling Kray," the pirate said. "But time is short, your highness. We must make plans. There is much we need to discuss, and many questions that need to be answered."

"How right you are," Arwen exclaimed. "I'm still trying to figure out why you didn't drown when that horrible thing with all the tentacles dragged you under the water!"

Ling Kray nodded. "Tamara, perhaps the prince will help you haul in the fish nets and start a small cooking fire. We all need something to eat. Arwen needs to learn her part in the plan so she can return to the surface as quickly as possible."

"Return to the surface?" Arwen suddenly realized that she was not out of danger yet. The real peril was just beginning.


	17. A Most Honorable Man

CHAPTER SEVENTEEN: A Most Honorable Man

"Do you know what it feels like to drown?" Ling Kray asked, in a low voice, when he was alone with Arwen in the cavern.

"No, I don't." Arwen shuddered, even though the small cook fire provided quite a bit of warmth as well as light. They had all eaten a few of the tasty blind fish that swam in the underground river, and then Captain Tamara had gently lifted the sleeping Prince Kassim and carried him off to rest. And now the beautiful daughter of Elrond found herself alone with a dangerous pirate who had come back from the dead!

"When you feel life slipping away," Ling Kray said quietly, "there's a sort of sadness. You see all of the harm you've done, and realize that you really never meant to be that sort of person. Only it's a little too late to make any changes."

"Well, it's not too late for you," Arwen said briskly. She didn't like to think that Ling Kray might have a conscience after all. The bronzed warrior was still just a lawless pirate! Arwen pushed aside the heated memories that made her squirm. "The frog-creatures saved you from that unspeakable beast of a thousand fathoms – I guessed that already. But how did you make your way here, to Zin Zaraboob? And why?"

Ling Kray gave her a crooked smile. "Technically, daughter of Elrond, you are still my slave. Somehow I couldn't bear the thought of anyone damaging my property, and so I set out alone across the desert to find you."

"How heroic," Arwen muttered, in a bitter and snarky tone. The idea of Ling Kray claiming her after all this time was enough to make her blood boil. He couldn't just carry her off on his pirate ship again. Didn't he realize she was a lady?

"I suppose you forced Captain Tamara to show you the way to Zin Zaraboob," she accused, sitting up straight and pushing aside her thick jet-black hair. The damp air of the underground cavern made everything feel sticky and heavy.

"Not exactly," the pirate replied. "You see, when I hit the desert and came to the first oasis, I found the black captain lying wounded and unconscious in the sand. It seems she'd had an argument with one of the other elite female warriors."

"It must have been that cruel blonde, Captain Gwenna." Arwen remembered Gwenna only too well. She was getting interested in the story in spite of herself. "So then, you found Tamara, and you made your way here across the desert?"

Ling Kray shook his head. "No, the captain was too badly hurt to travel, so I picked her up on my shoulders and carried her back to the swamps. I thought the Frog Children might be able to heal her, the same way they revived me after I nearly drowned in the grip of that giant underwater creature."

"And did they?" It was a foolish question, but by this time Arwen was engrossed in the story and hanging on every word. How brave Tamara was, fighting the evil Gwenna – and how unexpected of Ling Kray to carry a stranger all that way on his shoulders! "The Frog Children must truly love you," she blurted out. "I mean, they gave us a feast, and they helped Tamara, so they must see you as . . . well, a most honorable man." For some reason she began to blush.

The pirate nodded. "They are strange creatures," he said, stirring the twigs in the fire with the toe of his boot. "No other tribe has ever accepted me as they have. Humans call me a pirate, a raider . . . and a despoiler of unwilling women." He flicked a grin at her. "You know the truth of that charge."

"A moment ago you mentioned having a desire to change," Arwen reminded him crisply. "But what about the Frog Children? Did they heal Captain Tamara out of love for you? I know there's been bad feeling between the swamp creatures and the warriors of Queen Zuleika in the past."

"Ah, this is where the story gets interesting." Ling Kray leaned towards her. The firelight picked out the stark beauty of his lean visage, emphasizing the sharp lines of his cheekbones and the mysterious gleam in his slanting dark eyes. "You may not know this, gentle elf-lady, but there is a vast underground river beneath the desert. It connects the swamps to the city of Zin Zaraboob. Now, when the Frog Children healed Captain Tamara, they offered to guide us along the dark river, so we could approach the city unseen and without having to trek across the desert. But in return they wanted my pledge to help with the rituals of breeding."

Arwen was almost afraid to ask. "Well, exactly what kind of help would the Frog Children need with breeding?"

Ling Kray surprised her again. He didn't come back with a lewd, teasing remark. It was evident that he took his bond with the frog people quite seriously. "For quite some time, the southern swamps have been slowly drying up. It's nothing you and I would notice, but the _miri-squaramiri_, the Frog Children, they sense it. And they need a place to breed. And so I gave my promise to help them reclaim these ancient caverns, here beneath the city of Zin Zaraboob."

"Well, I doubt Queen Zuleika will ever approve of that," Arwen frowned. "That's why you helped me rescue Prince Kassim, isn't it? You don't care at all about Zin Zaraboob – you want to put him on the throne to make things better for your web-footed green friends!"

"I think having Kassim on the throne will make things better for everyone," Ling Kray replied. "Surely the Lady Galadriel felt the same way. Why else did she send you on a diplomatic mission to these parts in the first place?"

The pirate had a point. "Well, I don't see how anyone can stop you if swarms of frog-creatures come pouring out into the streets of the city," Arwen said wryly. "But I do think the human inhabitants have a right to be told! Are you going to keep me chained up in the dark until the eggs all hatch? There must be thousands of them lying here in the caverns!"

"That is true," Ling Kray told her. "Only they won't hatch for another two weeks at least. And now that the young prince has gone missing, there's always the danger that Queen Zuleika will order her evil minions down into the caverns, to seek us out and destroy us."

Arwen shuddered. "If Zuleika knew what was brewing down here, she'd destroy all of us this instant – starting with me!"

"She must never know," Ling Kray said firmly. "And that is why you must return to the surface at once, before another minute passes."

"Are you mad?" Arwen scrambled to her feet in panic. Yet it was ridiculous to run – where could she go except deeper and deeper into dank caverns filled with slimy creatures? Her stumbling steps tapered off, and she sagged against a rocky ledge in total despair, hiding her face in her hands.

Ling Kray's low voice buzzed in her ear, the sound as soothing and reassuring as the strong arm around her waist. "Brave Lady Arwen, only you can buy us the time we need. You must keep the evil queen from getting suspicious."

"But how can I explain what I was doing down here all afternoon?" Arwen lifted her tear-stained face and looked at the pirate directly. Did he really think she could pull this off?

"The guards never actually saw you, did they? And you said you came down through a trap door. No one even knows you left your room. All you need to do is go back up the way you came, and act as though you spent the whole afternoon relaxing in your chambers. They'll believe that, won't they?"

"They might," Arwen said doubtfully, rubbing her eyes. "But the evil queen will certainly know if her prisoner is missing!"

"But don't you see? That's a good thing." Ling Kray produced a colorful scrap of cloth and began drying her tears. His touch was amazingly gentle, yet it sent shivers of awareness right down to her toes. "The lower levels are feared by the city dwellers above. They will most likely think that some horrible monster from the deep killed the guards, and the prince, and then vanished into the underground river. I'll get the frog children to help me pry open the bars, and slime up the empty cell a little, too, after you've gone upstairs."

"M-maybe Queen Zuleika will believe Kassim was taken," Arwen sniffled. "Maybe she wanted that to happen all along." The beautiful elf-maiden suddenly realized that she trusted Ling Kray. His plan was madness, but he was counting on her to make it work. Arwen was astonished at how much that meant to her.

And of course, she was also astonished when Ling Kray kissed her. Danger and doubt were extinguished instantly. Heat and pleasure spiraled through her in ever-widening waves of sensation. There was nothing quite like being kissed by a dangerous pirate, Arwen thought. All she wanted was more. The worrying could wait till later.


	18. Arwen's New Friend

CHAPTER EIGHTEEN: Arwen's New Friend

"All right, enough." Ling Kray broke the kiss with a sudden jerk that left Arwen confused and breathless. "Can you find your way back to the surface on your own?"

"Of course I can! I came down on my own, didn't I?" Arwen was hurt by the way the pirate treated her – as if the passions unleashed by that fiery and all-consuming kiss were something he could turn on and off at will. Part of her feared it was all an act. Maybe everything he did and said was designed just to make her want him more. The elf-maid stepped back, putting a look of cold disdain on her face. "Thanks for telling me your story. It was very entertaining."

"You won't tell Queen Zuleika what's going on down here, will you?" The anxiety on the pirate's dark face would have been comical if Arwen weren't feeling so angry and hurt. _He cares more about those frog creatures and their eggs than he does about me!_

"You can trust me, pirate captain. I will be just as deceptive as I need to be. We both know how convincing lies can be." Arwen whirled on her heel and left the sexy pirate, seeking the long-forgotten stairwell carved into the cavern walls.

Climbing up to her room was much harder than climbing down. Arwen was tired and panting with exertion by the time she pushed open the trap door and dragged herself back into her cool, dark bedchamber. A lingering redness on the horizon was all that remained of the burning heat of the day.

She washed and shed her garments and fell face-down on the bed. To avoid unwanted questions, Arwen decided to pretend she was resting if anyone looked in. All she had to do was let herself drift, and imagine she was already fast asleep. Already asleep . . . fast asleep . . . already asleep . . .

Arwen was really and _truly_ fast asleep when the queen sent a flock of chirping maid-servants to summon her to breakfast the next morning. It was a bit bewildering to be sent for by Queen Zuleika, since the queen usually rose early to read state documents in her study. Clad only in rumpled sleeping clothes, the lovely elf-maid was still rubbing the slumber from her eyes as she stumbled into Zuleika's royal chamber.

"Ah, there you are," said the queen, her alert brown eyes taking in Arwen's flushed features and tousled black hair. "My maids tell me you were too tired to eat anything last night. Can I offer you some breakfast?"

"Yes, thank you." Arwen dropped into a low, cushioned chair at a side table heaped with food and drink. Evidently the stately queen had eaten already. She sat and watched from her tall carved throne as the hungry elf-maid feasted on soft rolls with fresh butter and a variety of sweet preserves.

"Did you manage to dig up that valuable bracelet I asked you about yesterday morning?" Zuleika enquired pleasantly.

"Bracelet? What bracelet?" Arwen froze with a mouth full of buttered roll. She definitely had seen the bracelet. Panic swept over her when she remembered using its magic powers to free Prince Kassim from the underground cavern. But she couldn't recall whether she'd dropped it on a table back in her sleeping chamber, or stuffed it into a storage chest, or whether – oh, merciful Lady of Lorien – she'd somehow lost the cursed trinket deep in the secret caverns!

"I thought you were going to look for it yesterday afternoon." Queen Zuleika clapped her hands. "Send a messenger to fetch Captain Margo," she commanded. Her guards obeyed, but Arwen noticed that they kept the door barred and shut.

"I'm sorry I couldn't find the bracelet," she said nervously, gulping down her half-eaten roll. "I tried – after archery practice yesterday – but the sun was so hot. So I went to my chambers just for a short rest. But I must have really slept!"

"Yes, of course." Queen Zuleika softened her expression just a tiny bit. "You must have been tired last night. You wouldn't eat, and fell back to slumber the moment my maids helped you into fresh sleeping clothes. Yet it's quite peculiar – they said the garments you left lying at the foot of your bed were positively filthy, as if you'd been out playing in mud for hours. Just where were you yesterday afternoon, Arwen Evenstar?"

"I was just . . . I was . . ." Arwen fumbled for a plausible explanation of her whereabouts. But the only image her mind could conjure up was that of Ling Kray the pirate, _kissing_ her with a possessive mastery that thrilled her right down to her toes. Arwen knew that she was blushing. Her cheeks were very hot. But if she spilled her secret, both she and her pirate lover and his strange, frog-like friends were totally done for!

"It's all right, Your Majesty," cried a cheerful voice. "The Lady Arwen was with me all afternoon." Clad in shining armor, with her red hair glowing in the morning light, Captain Margo swaggered confidently into the chamber.

"What do you mean, captain?" The queen asked sternly. "Were you not aware that I was seeking my lost bracelet?"

"Yes, Your Majesty. Here it is." The female captain winked at Arwen, and tossed the gleaming bracelet to the queen on her throne. "You see, the elf-lady and I went searching in the gardens, because she thought she'd dropped it there. And we got awfully dirty, and very hot and tired. Poor Arwen finally gave up and went to take a nap, just like she said. But at the end of the day I found it, right under a red rose bush!"

"That's wonderful," Arwen said faintly. She slumped in her cushioned chair, very grateful and relieved. Only a tiny part of her wondered why the captain had covered for her.

"Yes, it seems Captain Margo is definitely the right person to put in charge of protecting my palace treasures," Queen Zuleika said stiffly, sitting up very straight on her throne. "Neither of you could know this, of course, but yesterday there was a subterranean disturbance beneath our palace. It seems some . . . creatures attacked our storage rooms, and made off with several prisoners, aided by persons unknown. Captain Margo, I want you to get to the bottom of this. Take a squad of your best lady guardsmen and investigate the caverns. You may have the rest of the day to prepare."

"Begging your pardon, Your Majesty, but what about the elf lady?" Sauntering up behind Arwen's chair, Margo clapped her strong, capable hands firmly on the elf's slim shoulders. "You don't want her going down into that black pit, do you?"

"The Lady Arwen is my honored guest," Queen Zuleika declared. "She is not a lady of the guard, and she is not to be taken below nor exposed to any hardship or danger."

"Oh, but I don't mind going – I mean, if I can help Captain Margo – I just want to do whatever is best!" Arwen tried to look eager and excited, as if she were hearing about the caverns for the first time. But it was all an act. The last thing she wanted was to lead the clever captain to Ling Kray!

"Good girl!" Margo gave her shoulders a friendly squeeze. "But the queen is right. You can't come with us, but there's no reason you can't help us prepare. So what do you say we round up the girls, and inspect their weapons and armor? We can make plans after lunch, maybe look at some old maps, and then a light workout and some time at the baths."

"That sounds lovely," Arwen said, forcing a smile. She really was incredibly grateful to this nice Captain Margo. But deep down she was very nervous about fooling Queen Zuleika. And she hated lying to her new friend.


	19. Search And Destroy

CHAPTER NINETEEN: Search and Destroy

"Ah, the searchers have found something at last!" Captain Margo sprang up at once from the cushioned massage table where she had been resting after a brisk morning work-out.

"The searchers? Huh?" Arwen Evenstar was not so quick to rouse herself when the female guards came into the ladies' bath chamber dragging a heavy wooden crate. All week long, Queen Zuleika's soldiers had been searching the vast network of caverns beneath the royal palace, yet so far they had not uncovered a single trace of the frog-creatures, or the dread pirate Ling Kray.

Things were quiet. And that was just how Arwen wanted it.

"Hey, look at this!" Hastily clad in a fluffy white robe, Margo pointed to the peculiar jugs of greenish liquid that filled the weathered old wooden crate. The other girls crowded around the big open box in astonishment, many only half-dressed.

"I'll bet its poison!"

"Maybe its perfume!"

"Is it wine?"

"Should we open a jug and try it?"

"What if it's a trick?"

"I know what it is." Arwen came forward slowly, clad in a bathing robe that was similar to Margo's but a bit frillier, with a pretty flower design. It was vital to remain calm, and not appear too eager or excited about the discovery.

"Well, do enlighten us with your elf-wisdom," Margo teased. The beautiful red-head smiled to show she was only joking.

Arwen blew the dust off the nearest jug. "This is liquor made by the frog-creatures of the swampland far to the south. They call it _gliss-ta__glorp-slorp_, the Happiness Drink."

"Then there are frog-creatures in the caverns below!" Margo's aggressive nature came to the surface at once. "We should go right back down there and . . ."

"But how do you know this liquor wasn't just left in the caverns years ago?" Arwen caught the other girl's sleeve. "After all, you've been patrolling down there for days and so far all you've discovered is one ancient crate filled with liquor. We don't even know if this lot is still good to drink!"

"We should try it," whispered one of the girls.

"Yes, try it!" All of them began giggling and chattering.

"Silence!" Though she was friendly and cheerful with her fellow soldiers, Margo was still very much in command. "None of you will drink until we know it is safe. Those frog-things down below are monsters and they are dangerous!"

"That's not true!" Arwen blushed as she caught herself giving too much away. "I mean, when the pirate Ling Kray captured me, he took me to one of their camps. The frog-children never did me any harm. I think they're very gentle creatures!"

Sweet, friendly Margo gave her a surprisingly sharp look. It was a suspicious look, seeming to turn Arwen inside out. "You haven't seen any of them lately, have you?" she asked.

"Of course not," Arwen assured her, fighting a flutter of pure panic. She couldn't let anyone find out she had been visiting the caverns in secret, let alone that Ling Kray was still alive. "I just remember the pirates trading with them, and being surprised at how tasty all the frog-food and liquor really was."

"Well, we'll try a little, but only if you taste it first!" Margo laughed, and the rest of her guards joined in. "Now some of you haul that heavy crate up to my chambers, and the rest can see about getting us some bread and cheese, along with a platter of smoked meat for the noon meal!"

Arwen wanted the surface dwellers to trust the creatures of the caverns. There was no harm in drinking a little _gliss-ta__glorp-slorp,_ was there? Everyone was very noisy and cheerful as they lounged on soft cushions in Margo's private chambers. The laughing girls passed huge platters of meat and cheese back and forth, along with big golden goblets of the Happiness Drink.

"This is _almost_ as good as dining with the frog-children, isn't it?" Margo asked, after all the eating and drinking was done. "You must have liked them a lot to remember so much!"

"They're gentle creatures," Arwen muttered. She felt very sleepy, especially lying beside Captain Margo on a heap of cushions. "Why don't you girls ever invite any _men_ to your feasts?" she asked, rubbing her sleepy blue eyes.

Arwen had not _meant_ to start any trouble. But immediately the girls grew angry.

"We're not slaves to men!"

"We're the sacred sisterhood!"

"We're pure warriors and true servants of the queen!"

"Now girls, the Lady Arwen is our guest! She just doesn't understand." Captain Margo laughed, and clapped her hands. A couple of giggling young girls ran forward and presented themselves. They were twins, blonde and baby-faced, very different from the slim, tanned, athletic young woman warriors who made up the rest of the royal guard.

"Lola and Nola will now give us a song about beautiful women and no-good men." Margo gave a little laugh. "Act it out, girls, so the Lady Arwen can really get the picture."

Arwen's droopy eyes flew open wide in astonishment as the twins began to dance and sing. Lola and Nola were fabulous dancers, wriggling and jiggling in a way that made her blush. But the song they sang was even more outrageous:

_That no-good man says you're sweet, sweet, sweet_

_He'll even bow down and kiss your feet,_

_But wake up, sister, and then you'll know, _

_He just wants to stick it where the sun don't glow!_

Arwen laughed and laughed. But it seemed to her that Margo and her friends were trapped in a vow they didn't understand, imprisoned in childhood forever. The girls _seemed_ happy. Lola and Nola were wiggling for all they were worth. But by the end of the song Arwen actually felt rather sad. Her heart was heavy. And her eyes were too.

"And now something a bit more . . . soothing." At Margo's command, a lovely young girl with slanted black eyes and bronzed skin drew forth a harp and began to pluck it gently. Arwen lay back on the cushions and closed her eyes. She listened to the music, and thought of all that had happened to her since she first met Ling Kray.

"All right, girls. Time to go to work!" Margo rose from her cushions and began buckling her sword belt. The other girls stood too, though some were sleepy and openly yawning.

"What about the elvish female?" One of them asked, pulling on her helmet. "Shouldn't we carry her back to her room?"

"No need," Margo replied. "She looks quite comfortable here in my chambers." The beautiful red-haired captain looked down at the elf-maiden, lying fast asleep on the cushions. "I'll take care of her later, when we get back from stomping out those filthy cavern-frogs. Come on, girls. Down to the caverns, to search and destroy!"

"Gentle creatures." Arwen frowned, but she didn't actually hear the captain's cruel words. She was just talking in her sleep. When the deadly girl soldiers left the chamber she didn't even hear the door shut softly behind them.


	20. Follow Me

CHAPTER TWENTY: Follow Me

"Arwen, it's time." The quiet voice roused the elf-maid from eerie dreams of rushing waters and frog-filled caverns.

"Mm." Her heavy lids lifted a little, then fell with a crash. Arwen was satisfied to see she wasn't drowning in some dark cavern. She was in Zuleika's palace, lying on soft cushions in a quiet chamber. She felt safe, and very snug.

"Wake up, beautiful!" The rough hands kept shaking her.

"Margo?" Arwen turned over, expecting to see the beautiful, red-haired captain grinning down at her. Instead her heart gave a lurch as she recognized the broad shoulders and scowling features of the fiercely handsome pirate Ling Kray.

"You!" Arwen blinked her eyes, and suddenly everything clicked. "Ling Kray, you have to warn the frog-children. Margo and the girls, they're searching the caverns! Is it too late?" She sat up in confusion, her black hair in wild disarray.

"Easy, elf-child." The pirate dropped to one knee on the cushion beside her. "We've got the queen's loyal guard locked up down in the caverns. Our frog-friends are safe."

"What? But they were all looking for you. They were armed! They think the frog-children are dangerous monsters. I tried to explain how gentle and harmless they really are . . ." Arwen bit her lip, fighting to stop a sudden flood of tears. "Margo will kill them all. Those poor creatures," she sniffled.

"Hush, my unruly slave." Ling Kray tucked a stray lock of tangled ebony hair back behind one of her pointed ears. "The red-head won't cause us any trouble. Right now she's safe in dreamland. Out like a candle, just as you were a minute ago. All the girls are. It's all going according to plan."

"According to plan? But I don't understand . . ." Suddenly Arwen felt her cheeks burn with anger and embarrassment. "The Happiness Drink! You _tricked_ my friends into falling asleep!" The daughter of Elrond scowled, remembering how she'd coaxed the others into trying her favorite drink. She'd enjoyed every drop, just like Margo and the rest. But she never guessed that it was all part of a plot to _capture_ them!

"No, I didn't. You did." Ling Kray laughed, offering her his hand and helping her to her feet. "I wasn't sure the others would sample the frog liquor in the crate, but I knew you would. I was counting on you, and you didn't let me down."

"Well, thanks for letting me know I could assist you, _master_." Arwen didn't like being used. She tried to sound both snarky and superior as he pulled her to her feet. "Next time let me know when you want my help," she added, in a softer voice.

Arwen was still mad. But suddenly they were face to face. Her heart started pounding, and she even felt a bit dizzy, just as she had when Ling Kray kissed her back in the swamp. What if she kissed him this time? What if she leaned closer and just closed the gap between their mouths? They were so close their lips were almost touching already. All she had to do was close her eyes, and lean a little bit closer . . .

"I want your help, Arwen."

"Huh?" Arwen opened her eyes. She felt confused and bewildered. _Disappointed_. No, she wasn't disappointed – she was relieved. She was glad Ling Kray hadn't kissed her!

"I want your help." Ling Kray took both her hands in his and squeezed. Arwen understood what the gesture really meant. The fierce pirate was not commanding her as a slave but asking her as a friend. "You know Queen Zuleika quite well. You've been in her chambers. Can you help me find the source of her magic powers?"

"Uh . . . I think so." Arwen remembered the pendant of power the majestic older woman wore around her thick neck. "But Ling Kray, it's dangerous! The queen has magic powers, she can cast spells and she's well-guarded by woman warriors."

"Not today," the pirate told her. "Her best guards are down in the cavern. Zuleika is in the market place collecting taxes from the merchants. You and I can slip into her private chambers and destroy her magic. I just need you to get a fix on the true source of her powers. You elves have a natural feeling for such things. Together we can defeat her and make Prince Kassim the new ruler."

"But . . . but what if I'm not meant to do this?" This was the most important question Arwen had ever asked herself. In a way she had been asking it ever since she left Galadriel's protection and struck out on her own.

What was her original mission here in Zin Zaraboob? Only to negotiate an alliance with Queen Zuleika, and to determine whether or not young Prince Kassim had met with foul play. Now it seemed clear that the queen had been planning to get rid of the little boy. But he was already safe. Who was to say what should happen next? Should Queen Zuleika be toppled from power? Executed, banished, or imprisoned? Would the boy Kassim rule in her place? Did Arwen have the right to judge who was fit to rule in Zin Zaraboob? Did she have the right to change the destiny of an entire city?

Arwen was afraid – not of getting hurt, but of making a decision that might hurt others. She was afraid, deep down, of what she truly felt. She felt in her heart that Ling Kray and the frog-children were good – but he was a pirate and they were creatures who lived in the slimy deep. She also felt that Queen Zuleika and Captain Margo were up to no good – yet they were both strong females who had treated her kindly.

"I can't do this," she said finally. Her head sank down till it rested against the fierce pirate's massive chest. "I just can't."

"I can carry you off," Ling Kray told her gently. He put his arms around her, pulling her close. Yet he still didn't kiss her. Instead he stroked her long black hair. "You have to decide, girl. Be my slave and I'll take you away to a place of safety. We'll forget all that's happened here. But if we stay we make a stand. We see it through. I can't do this without you, Arwen."

"You can't?" Arwen looked up into his bronzed face. Ling Kray was devastatingly attractive, a supremely confident male with an almost primal hold over her. He called himself her master, yet he trusted her with his life. They were going up against Queen Zuleika, and he was putting her in charge. "What if I make the wrong decision?"

"You won't." Hard black eyes burned into hers, fierce and hungry with desire. Yet it was the need that made her knees go weak. This time Ling Kray kissed her. It was a punishing, ravishing kiss that thrilled her right down to her toes. Arwen kissed back eagerly, wanting to let the pirate know how deeply she was his. Yet when they finally came up for air her voice was calm, steady, and in control.

"That's enough," she said. "Follow me."


	21. Not Good Enough

CHAPTER TWENTY-ONE: Not Good Enough

"Such a pity, really." Queen Zuleika picked up a parchment and fanned herself, a pout of pretend regret on her flabby face. "And I had such high hopes for you, Arwen Evenstar."

"Do what you want to me," the elf-maiden cried defiantly, tugging against the ropes that kept her tied to the chair. "Only please, don't leave Ling Kray . . . like that!"

"Ribbit!" croaked the big green bullfrog on the marble floor. A moment ago the frog had been the fierce pirate Ling Kray.

"Got you, you warty little monster!" Captain Gwenna pounced on the frog with a cry of triumph, holding the poor creature up by one green, kicking leg. "Do you want me to tear the animal's legs off, Your Majesty?" the evil blonde warrior cackled, a cruel grin on her face. "Or should I just choke the life out of the ugly creature right here and now?"

"Don't hurt him, please!" Tears ran down Arwen's cheeks. It was her fault that Captain Gwenna had caught the two of them going through Zuleika's magic scrolls. Ling Kray might have killed the blonde with his sword, only Arwen had clutched his arm and begged him to show mercy. And then the queen arrived and turned Ling Kray into a frog! Arwen had grabbed his sword and tried to fight, but Gwenna knocked it right out of her hands. So now Arwen was helpless, tied to a chair, and blubbering like a baby because a frog she loved was about to be put to death.

A frog she _loved?_ It was ridiculous, but sobbing, helpless Arwen suddenly realized it was true. She loved Ling Kray . . . the pirate who had both kidnapped and enslaved her.

"There, there," Queen Zuleika patted Arwen's cheek, (in a very humiliating and totally insincere way) and then popped the frog in a big round glass bowl. She clapped a lid over it, and put it on the window ledge. "We'll just leave our little green friend to bake in the sun until his skin dries out and he dies. That will give the Lady Arwen plenty of time to think about telling us where the other frog-creatures are."

"There are no other frog creatures, I swear it!" Arwen tried to shut off her tears, but instead she just kept on crying. If she had to tell on the frog-creatures to save him, she would do it. She knew now that she would do _anything_ to save Ling Kray. But the fat queen and the mean blonde just laughed at her.

"The sun will be setting in an hour," Zuleika said, putting an arm around her companion. "The creature in the glass will last until morning. Why don't you stay up all night and watch over him, Arwen Evenstar? Then in the morning he can die, or you can tell us everything." The laughing queen left the room with shapely Captain Gwenna at her side.

Arwen was alone. Dusk was approaching. At least her poor trapped frog was protected from the sun. But in the morning, she knew she would spill everything. Then Queen Zuleika would know about the frog-creatures in the caverns below the city. She would probably try to hunt them down and kill them, just like Captain Margo.

_Captain Margo!_ Arwen straightened up in her chair, suddenly gripped by a new worry. Margo and all her friends were still down in the caverns. Hadn't the queen noticed they were missing? The women warriors of Zin Zaraboob feasted together every night. They were all very close to their queen. As soon as Zuleika found out, she'd be back to question Arwen. She might not wait till sunrise to hurt Ling Kray . . .

With fear jolting through her system, the elf princess tried to tug herself closer to the glass vessel on the window sill. Night was falling now. The frog in the bowl was just a dark shape. Yet Arwen strained her slim shoulders, wrenched her body back and forth, and finally succeeded in moving herself forward. It was a bit like frog-hopping, making her chair jump just a tiny fraction of an inch each time. It seemed hopeless. But she kept trying. Exhaustion wracked her aching body, and sweat drenched her slender form by the time she got close enough to peer down into the bowl.

"Ribbit!" croaked the frog encouragingly. "Ribbit!"

That was Ling Kray, Arwen thought with a faint smile. Even in his frog form, he was probably teasing her or challenging her or ordering her not to give up. What an arrogant, annoying person her pirate captain was. Now all she had to do was lean over as far as she could, and nudge the glass lid aside with her nose. After that it was just a matter of turning Ling Kray from a frog back into a man again.

Arwen knew exactly how to work that spell.

The one thing she had not counted on, however, was the cruelty of the blonde Captain Gwenna. Arwen's hands were tied behind the back of her chair, but there was another rope bound tightly beneath her breasts as well. No matter how she strained, she couldn't quite lean over far enough to reach the lid of the glass bowl with her nose. Arwen tried and tried, until her muscles ached and the ropes chafed her tender skin. But even when she broke down and cried, her tears just fell harmlessly on the lid of the glass bowl. And the minutes were ticking by. Soon it would be dinner time . . .

Arwen made one last effort. Her body strained, her muscles ached, and she nearly nudged the heavy glass lid of the bowl. Almost . . . almost . . . _almost!_

No. Not good enough.

Not good enough. Arwen sank back in her chair, trembling from her efforts, too exhausted to even cry.

_Not good enough_. That was the story of her whole life, really. Not good enough to be a wise queen like Galadriel. Not good enough to live up to her father Elrond's high expectations, or the strict elven standards of female conduct. Not good enough to be worthy of a man like Aragorn, whose purity of spirit and devotion the elvish ways far exceeded her own. Not good enough to accomplish anything she set out to do from the moment she left the golden halls of Lothlorien.

Arwen Evenstar was a complete failure. And she was alone.

"Ribbit!" said the frog trapped in the glass bowl.


	22. Galadriel's Wisdom

CHAPTER TWENTY-TWO: Galadriel's Wisdom

Arwen was not asleep. And she was sure she was not dreaming. Yet just when she had lost all hope, when she was sitting all alone in the dark, (all alone except for the poor helpless frog who had once been Ling Kray the pirate) the room was suddenly filled with golden light.

"Lady Galadriel!" The dark-haired daughter of Elrond cried. "Thank all the stars you have arrived in time. Please, cut me loose from this chair so I can save my friend."

"Alas, Arwen Evenstar," said the golden-haired queen, as she hovered over the helpless captive in a golden pool of light. "I can do nothing for you. You must call upon your greatest strength."

"I have no strength left," Arwen sobbed bitterly. "I've struggled and I've struggled and I can't loosen these ropes. And I can't lean over far enough to kiss the frog and turn him back into Ling Kray. And from the very beginning, I've shown nothing but _weakness_ in the face of every single challenge."

"Really?" asked the Lady Galadriel. "I think it was very brave of you to leave the shelter of my sacred forest and come here to the sinful city of Zin Zaraboob. You've made many friends here, have you not?"

"Ribbit!" said the big green frog trapped in the glass bowl. Arwen could just imagine what Ling Kray was trying to say. He was counting on her. He believed in her. Yet she was powerless to help him now, even if she had grown to like and admire and . . . and . . . well, even to _love_ the fierce pirate.

"I'm no use to anyone," Arwen choked out, through fresh tears. "You warned me not to come here, blessed Lady of Light, and you were right. I haven't put a stop to the evil all around me. Instead I've become a part of it! I've been lazy and greedy, I've gossiped and lied, and I've wasted whole days lying around drinking the Happiness Drink . . ."

"Those things cannot be undone," the golden-haired queen said bluntly. Her cool gray eyes were clear and pitiless.

Arwen wished she could hide from Galadriel's knowing gaze. She wanted to bury her face in her hands. But her arms were tied behind her back. She could only lower her head and let the heavy falling tresses of her shining black hair hide her pale, tear-streaked face.

"You gave in to luxury and took the easy path," Galadriel continued, her face grave. "But even your human side has its place. Part of the reason you have survived as long as you have is that Queen Zuleika underestimates you. She doesn't understand that you have a secret power."

"I do?" Arwen lifted her wet face and swollen eyes, gazing up at the fair-haired elven queen with total incomprehension.

"You have friends," Galadriel said gently. "You have not failed in _everything_, Arwen. You must call on their strength as well as your own."

"But how do I . . ." Arwen only shut her eyes for instant, scattering teardrops from her long black lashes. Yet in less than the blink of an eye the Lady Galadriel had vanished.

Arwen Evenstar was weak, but she wasn't stupid. She understood perfectly well what Galadriel had been trying to tell her. Closing her eyes, she called up images of all the friends she had made on her adventures. At first the pictures were all of Ling Kray. Arwen saw his flashing black eyes, his teasing smile. She remembered the thrilling feel of his lips on hers, and his hard bronzed body pressed close to hers.

A secret power . . . Arwen had never understood that her greatest weakness was really her greatest strength. She had fallen deeply in love with a man everyone else saw as an evil pirate. And because she trusted him, she had found the untapped goodness inside of him, and brought it out. Maybe that was what Galadriel meant. Her thoughts shifted, and she remembered sharing stories and laughter with Captain Margo . . . and Captain Tamara . . . and all the other girls of the palace guard . . . and even with Prince Kassim!

"There she is!" Just then the door flew open, and three figures appeared in the dim light. There was red-haired Captain Margo, and coal-black Captain Tamara, both armed and ready to fight. And there was fat little Prince Kassim, acting very important and sure of himself.

"Ling Kray told us to wait in the caverns," the little boy announced. "But I said we had to come to the surface. I am of royal blood, and I could _sense_ that you were in danger!"

"Well, it took you long enough to get here," Arwen said, covering her shock and awe with a casual smile. She had summoned her three friends just by admitting to herself that she cared for them. She had begun to realize that she could do far more than she thought if she just believed in herself.

That was Galadriel's wisdom . . . and Ling Kray's.


	23. Source of Evil

CHAPTER TWENTY-THREE: Source of Evil

_POOF! _

The instant Arwen's puckered lips brushed the cool, moist skin of the frog's back, Ling Kray the pirate was back in his bodily form. The hard-muscled pirate immediately crushed the tall elf-maiden to him and returned her kiss with passion.

For a moment the two of them were oblivious to everything.

"All right," Ling Kray finally said, ending the kiss with a suddenness that left Arwen gasping. "Let's go find that evil Queen Zuleika and get rid of her once and for all!"

"No, wait!" Arwen clutched his arm. "We can't just rush into the banquet hall. The queen is surrounded by armed guards, and she has magic protection as well. We need to think of a plan!"

Ling Kray gave her a crooked smile. His black eyes where shining in the dim light of the chamber. "Devise a plan, and I will follow. I trust you with body and soul, Arwen Evenstar."

"Thank you, captain." For a moment Arwen felt almost shy. The two of them had come a long way from the days when Arwen was a slave who hated her pirate kidnaper.

"I'm in charge here," Fat little Prince Kassim interrupted. "Queen Zuleika killed my father, and stole my throne. I want it back, and if we follow any plan, it should be my plan!"

"Being a king can be dangerous, little prince," Captain Tamara said softly. "Do you really want to lead the way?"

"I want to be the nastiest surprise Zuleika's ever gotten," Kassim said stubbornly.

"That gives me an idea . . ." Arwen drew her friends close, and began outlining a desperate plan.

"Well, that was a square meal, old girl!" Evil Captain Gwenna slapped Queen Zuleika on the back, totally disregarding the proper protocol of the court. After getting rid of the queen's most deadly enemies, the woman warrior clearly saw herself as holding all the cards. "What's for dessert?"

"I haven't the slightest idea," the queen replied coldly. Already the hefty older woman was regretting the decision to make blonde Gwenna the new captain of the guard. But with Margo lost in the catacombs, what choice did she have? Getting rid of Ling Kray the pirate and that idiot elf-girl had been a necessity, but the price had been high. Already the queen sensed she might have to get rid of Gwenna too. But it wouldn't be so easy this time. If only cheerful, laughing, red-haired Captain Margo would come back to her alive . . .

Just then there was a great clamor at the door of the banquet hall. Captain Margo was back from the caverns, all dressed in shining armor and banging on a pair of cymbals!

"Have you returned in triumph, Captain Margo?" the queen asked, inwardly rejoicing that she hadn't lost her favorite captain after all. Not that she trusted the girl. Zuleika trusted no-one. But it would be easy to turn Margo and Gwenna against each other, and so preserve her own power.

"Yes, Your Majesty! The loathsome frog creatures have been utterly destroyed – and we have fried up a whole platter of frog legs for you and your loyal companions!"

Queen Zuleika saw that it was true. A couple of beaten-down female slaves were already wheeling in a giant covered platter on a great rolling table. The slaves wore veils, but they kept their eyes on the floor, so that they looked totally conquered and afraid. Zuleika felt a little thrill of pleasure, anticipating what she might do to make them even more submissive and obedient.

"Wait, Your Majesty!" Gwenna half-rose from her seat at the table, reaching for her sword. "How do we know this isn't a trick? Margo could never have defeated all the frog creatures on her own."

"I didn't," the red-head said easily, sauntering up to the table. "When my girls and I killed the first few, the rest dove into the deep underground pools and vanished. They won't be back."

"I trust Captain Margo," Queen Zuleika said grandly. She wanted to make Gwenna jealous. Besides, the sight of the covered platter under her nose was making her hungry.

Greedily, the fat wicked queen uncovered the platter. And then all at once a pair of small hands shot out and seized her by the throat!

"Ha ha! Vengeance is mine!" Little Kassim had been hidden away under the covered platter. He jerked the pendant of power off the queen's neck, and tossed it back over his shoulder.

"Treachery!" Shouted evil Captain Gwenna. The blonde went for her sword, but immediately Captain Margo whipped out her blade and the two woman warriors began fighting. Chaos erupted in the banquet hall, as half the queen's guard sided with blonde Gwenna and half with red-headed Margo.

Amidst the screams and the clashing of swords, Arwen managed to get her hands on the queen's pendant of power. She had been disguised as one of the slave girls who were wheeling in the covered platter. Now, kneeling on the floor with Ling Kray shielding her with his big body, she threw aside her veil and chanted the spell she had learned from the secret scrolls in the queen's study.

"Be all revealed as it truly is, and be all weapons pointed at the source of evil!"

There was a sizzling flash of light, and a few cries of surprise and dismay from the female warriors. Yet all at once the fighting was over, as the panting antagonists found themselves drawn into a rough circle, their shining blades yanking them forward like dowsing rods.

Queen Zuleika was at the center of the circle. At first the cruel, painted face of the corrupt older woman was a sneering mask of defiance. But when she saw that all the swords pointed at her were held by young women, her expression softened. Tears came into her crafty brown eyes.

"Wait, my sisters, wait," she cried softly. "Don't you remember how it used to be? I set you free from your weak husbands, from your drunken fathers. I freed you from the beatings, and the forced marriages, and the unwanted children. Strike me down and you run the risk of falling right back into slavery."

A few of the young women hesitated, their shining swords drooping towards the marble floor. The queen smiled a wicked little smile, preparing to launch a counter-spell that would cloud their minds once again. Just then someone spoke.

"You talk well when you stand up for women, Zuleika." It was Arwen who spoke, her voice deep and low and full of magic. "But what are you standing on?"

"Eh?" The wicked queen turned towards the deep female voice, finally recognizing the power of Arwen Evenstar. But it was too late. The elf-maid's voice had opened everyone's eyes, and they saw clearly.

There on the floor, beneath the queen's feet, Prince Kassim lay dying. The queen had stabbed the little boy savagely in the confusion, and now his blood was spreading like a crimson pool.

"He was in my way!" Zuleika snarled. "I never wanted to bear a son. I was never anything but a _slave_ in the royal bed. All my evil acts were forced on me! That dying slug is not my child. I'm the victim here! I am a victim, a victim . . ."

It was Ling Kray, the pirate, who struck her head clean off with a single blow.


	24. You Must Stay

CHAPTER TWENTY-FOUR: You Must Stay

"I am not afraid to die," the little boy whispered. "But I do have a last request."

"Anything, dear prince. Anything you ask for!" Arwen Evenstar was cradling Prince Kassim in her arms, tears running down her cheeks. Her sobs and sniffles were echoed by those of Captain Margo and the other ladies of the late Queen Zuleika's royal guard.

"The City of Zin Zaraboob must not be left without a ruler," Kassim gasped. Arwen had cast a spell to reduce his pain, but she could not prevent the shadow of death from slowly closing in on him. Kassim was already drifting away. "I wish for the bold pirate Ling Kray to take my throne, and to rule with all authority, like my father and his father before him."

"But I am not a sultan or a prince!" cried the dark-eyed pirate. He had just come back from disposing of the evil queen's body. In spite of the sadness of the moment, Arwen had to smile. Resourceful and daring Ling Kray was the most fearless man she had ever known. He had crossed scorching deserts and braved sea serpents to protect her. Yet the look of fear on his face now was almost comical.

"Give me the crystal necklace," Prince Kassim whispered. Arwen knew what he meant. She reached for the rope of crystal beads evil Zuleika had been wearing around her neck – before Ling Kray separated her head from her shoulders.

_Dear to us you were, _

_Vanished men of yore._

_Spells that hold you fast,_

_Will set you free once more._

_An army without fear, _

_Sparkling and clear. _

As the dying boy prince whispered the words of the ancient spell, a silver mist seemed to fill the chamber. And then suddenly Ling Kray was surrounded by twelve mighty warriors, all of them in helmets and shining mail, and all of them shouting with upraised swords. And behind them stood twelve old and learned counselors, all grave, wise men with flowing white beards and impressive turbans.

"Long live the king! Long live Ling Kray!"

Prince Kassim raised a feeble hand, and the uproar stopped. "These men were my father's most loyal friends," he whispered. "Zuleika imprisoned them. Now they are free to serve you. Rule well my city of Zin Zaraboob, Ling Kray."

The pirate didn't look happy, but he bowed low to the dying boy. "As you command, noble prince."

Kassim was getting weaker now as death took hold. "He is a good man," he whispered, in a voice so low that Arwen could hardly hear. "But my magic is not enough to guide him. Arwen, you must stay and . . . you must stay and . . ."

"Kassim!" With a choked cry, the beautiful elf-maid squeezed the little boy in her arms, begging him not to go. But it was too late. Prince Kassim had gone to join his ancestors, the ancient warlike kings who were once rulers of Zin Zaraboob.


	25. Arwen's Grace

CHAPTER TWENTY-FIVE: Arwen's Grace

Arwen rocked the dead boy in her arms, murmuring to his departing spirit in the sacred elvish tongue. For a long time she couldn't see or hear anything else. But then, little by little, she became aware of the sound of voices.

Angry voices.

"I hope you don't think the valiant females of this kingdom are just going to put down their swords and go back to the kitchen, Your Majesty." Captain Margo was talking to Ling Kray, the pirate who had just become King of Zin Zaraboob.

"Silence, woman!" Thundered a white-bearded Grand Vizier in an old-fashioned blue turban. "It was your evil Queen Zuleika who murdered young Prince Kassim, and imprisoned us all through foul sorcery. By law the new king ought to have the wicked queen's entire guard executed at once."

"Do I really have that much power?" Ling Kray asked, in a dazed voice. The fierce pirate had just cut off Queen Zuleika's head moments ago. He was a hardened fighting man, used to giving orders, but he was still in shock. Arwen could see that the idea of being a king had truly shaken him.

"You do not," the red-haired Margo snarled. "Not unless you defeat each one of us, sword against sword."

"Even if the king falls, we will still kill each one of you, sword against sword." The old man in the turban was not alone. More than a dozen male warriors had been imprisoned with him. They faced off against Captain Margo and her female guard, swords ready. Everyone looked very fierce and very determined.

"No more killing!"

Heads turned. Everyone looked in Arwen's direction, as shocked and surprised as if the beautiful dark-haired elf maiden had appeared out of nowhere. In reality she had been in their midst the whole time, sitting cross-legged on the tiled floor. But everyone had forgotten her, just as they had forgotten the dead child she held in her arms. Now she set the child down, carefully and reverently. The daughter of Elrond stood up tall and straight, and she began to speak, her voice solemn and her blue eyes full of quiet authority.

"Ling Kray, you will not truly be a king until Prince Kassim has been put to rest in the tomb of his ancestors. You must perform the burial with all due ceremony, and with every possible token of respect. Otherwise the whole city will assume that it was you who murdered the prince and not Queen Zuleika."

"But what about the mystic male warriors, and the Grand Vizier?" Ling Kray asked. "Didn't they come back to life through magic? Doesn't that prove I am the rightful king?"

"The people must be told the story at once," Arwen declared. "Messengers must be sent to every house in the city. One male warrior, and one female captain, working in pairs, must blanket every street in the city before dawn. They will go house to house, letting it be known that the new king, Ling Kray, will protect the rights of women while restoring the ancient ceremonies and rites that protected the city from evil. All city residents must be invited to view the body of Prince Kassim at sunrise in the great temple."

"Why should we go along with this?" Captain Margo demanded. "Maybe you're hot for the pirate, elf-girl, but we're not. What do we get out of this?"

"The pirate is now your king," Arwen said coolly, ignoring the wave of heat she felt at the crude captain's sexual comment. "If you don't support the new government, people will assume you were with Queen Zuleika all along. That you knew of her plot to murder the poor little prince."

"But if you cooperate and spread the word that my rule is legitimate," Ling Kray continued, standing by Arwen's side, "I will issue a royal proclamation pardoning you and all your girls, and guaranteeing that my royal guard will be evenly balanced between old warriors and new. Sending you in pairs throughout the city will spread the same message."

"All right, we'll play ball." Margo chewed her full lower lip. "But who is going to sit up all night over the body of the slain prince? The custom says that only family may do that."

"I will sit up with the prince," Arwen said firmly. Not one person in the hall dared to contradict her, even though she was a stranger in the land.

"Right – so let it be done," Ling Kray said, in his new kingly tone of authority. The men and women all obeyed him.

"The old women will help me bathe and dress the prince's body, and prepare me for my all-night vigil," Arwen told the king, when they were alone together.

"I want you by my side, Arwen." Ling Kray reached for her, his voice husky with desire. "You have done so much for me, for all of us. I want to honor you, and somehow repay . . ."

"Is this the time for such talk?" Arwen unglued herself from his knowing hands, resisting the heat that engulfed her. Stepping back, she looked at the king with cold blue eyes. "Let me go, Your Majesty. I need to wash the blood off my hands. The blood of the boy I swore to protect."

"You may go." The new king watched as the tall elf-maid turned and walked away, her high heels clacking on the tiled floor. He knew that the grace and goodness of Arwen Evenstar had changed him from a common killer to a king. Yet his thoughts remained low, earthy and impure.

He didn't deserve Arwen's grace.


	26. Time To Go Home

CHAPTER TWENTY-SIX: Time To Go Home

Arwen's vigil was meant to be a solitary one. Alone on a raised platform beneath the lofty dome of the great temple, she was supposed to keep watch all night over the body of the slain prince.

But as she knelt beside the remains of poor Prince Kassim, Arwen realized that she was not alone. The temple was slowly being filled. As the long night wore on, a silent crowd was gathering in the rows of benches.

It was a strange collection of mourners. Some were merchants of great wealth who had sided with Queen Zuleika out of greed. Some were young women who had honestly welcomed her reign, since she declared forced marriages at an end and allowed women to serve in her palace as scribes, spell-casters and even soldiers. Some were children who had never seen a dead body before. And some were white-bearded holy men who remembered the old days and yet knew they could never come again.

Arwen had something in common with all these people. Like the children, she had been blind to the evil around her for far too long. Like the merchants, she had been captivated by the splendor of Zuleika's reign. Like the old men, she had hoped for a deliverance that would come without risk or toil. All of them had failed, in one way or another, and now the boy prince was dead.

The daughter of Elrond was an elf, a stranger. Yet she was bound to these people. Among them she was just one more sinner in a multitude of sinners. The death of Prince Kassim had given her a new understanding of her own place in life.

Pale morning light was shining through the temple windows as the last mourners arrived. The last of all was the new pirate king Ling Kray. He bowed to her as though she were a priestess, yet his dark gaze lingered on her curves in a way that made her feel naked beneath her sacred robes. Arwen felt her cheeks grow hot. But she did not look away.

"Good friends," she began, holding out her arms in welcome, "all of us have wept this night for the death of Prince Kassim. It was the sorcery of an evil woman that took his life. But Queen Zuleika is dead. And so as we mourn for the noble prince who was taken from us too soon, let us also look into our hearts and ask ourselves how we can change for the better. Let us build the future together, in the name of the boy prince who gave his life for all of us."

Arwen meant to go on and say that Ling Kray was just the man who could lead the city of Zin Zaraboob into the future. She wanted to tell the people how brave and clever he was, but also describe his kindness to Prince Kassim . . . and to her. Lastly she wanted to say that if they all worked together they could make a new start. There was nothing the people could not accomplish if they believed in their new king.

But while she was planning what to say, she felt, all of a sudden, the earth begin to shake beneath her feet. The walls of the temple were starting to tremble, there were moans of fear and cries of alarm, and Arwen had no time to react when a great block of stone broke loose and fell from the lofty domed ceiling high above.

"Got you!" The crashing stone fell just where Arwen had been standing a moment before. But Ling Kray was quick and alert, and he sensed the danger and knocked the tall elf-maid out of harm's way in the nick of time.

"You saved my life." As the earth's shaking subsided, Arwen became aware of Ling Kray's unselfish courage – and the heat and hardness of his powerful body. The two of them were lying on the floor, and the pirate king's muscular arms were wrapped tight around her in a protective male embrace.

"Just because you're not my slave anymore doesn't mean you can get yourself killed," he joked. Their faces were so close, his mouth nearly touching hers. "If you get squashed like a bug, who'll stop me from turning back into a frog?"

Arwen laughed, yet her laughter soon turned to tears. Then Ling Kray kissed her, and she lost her head entirely and started kissing back like a fool. Desire overruled all thought, as it always did when the pirate king held her close.

"Hush, my love," he said at last, breaking the kiss and carefully helping Arwen to her feet. Ling Kray's ebony eyes were shining. "Whatever devilment is causing the earth to shake, we'll soon put it right. You and I can accomplish anything together."

"Oh, Ling Kray, I'm so sorry." Arwen wiped her eyes and sniffled loudly, her tender lips still throbbing from that wild and wicked kiss. "Don't you understand? That earthquake wasn't caused by evil, but by good."

"Huh?" For once the cunning pirate looked absolutely perplexed.

"That rumbling we felt came from the north," Arwen explained, fighting to regain her poise. The eyes of the entire city rested upon her swollen lips and tear-stained face. "Mount Doom has fallen. Sauron and his One Ring are no more. It's time for me to go home."


	27. Ink And Parchment

CHAPTER TWENTY-SEVEN: Ink and Parchment

Arwen shoved the last of the heavy trunks out into the hall, and then straightened up with a weary sigh, wiping the sweat from her forehead. Any minute now someone would come to collect her luggage and take it down to the harbor. In a few hours her ship would set sail, and she would take her leave of the city of Zin Zaraboob forever.

And that would be that.

Splashing her face with ice-cold water from the underground river beneath the palace, the Daughter of Elrond found herself thinking fondly of the strange creatures who lived down there. She had said her goodbyes to the Frog Children last night, after many solemn rituals and formal ceremonies. It was good to know that the surface people and the cavern dwellers were now friends, and that the _miri-squaramiri_had a safe nesting place below where they could live undisturbed. The grateful creatures had presented the new king and his court with abundant aquatic delicacies, many precious stones and a generous supply of _gliss-ta glorp-slorp, _the intoxicating beverage known as the Happiness Drink.

Arwen patted her face dry with a soft towel, and began to pace back and forth in her empty bedchamber. The bare walls made her realize just how soon she would be leaving.

She should have said something to Ling Kray last night! She could have found some time during the festivities. While everyone else was drinking toasts with the Frog Children, she should have told him goodbye. For the last two weeks the two of them had been together almost every day, but they were never alone. Either they were waving to cheering crowds or she was helping the new king establish his rule through hours of talk and negotiation with the city's wealthier citizens. There were many jeweled and turbaned merchants who hated the idea of an ex-pirate on the throne – but few of them could resist the kind words and gentle persuasion of a lovely and innocent elf-maiden. They all thought that Arwen's purity and grace had transformed Ling Kray from a crude, bloodthirsty barbarian to a just and enlightened prince.

It wasn't all lies, of course. Ling Kray really had changed. But there was a weak and foolish and very human part of Arwen that wished he hadn't . . . that wished deep down that he were still the same fierce pirate who had enslaved her!

She sat down at the foot of her enormous bed, overwhelmed by the force of her conflicting emotions. Arwen felt tired after her morning's work, and all the ceremony of the past two weeks. She was so proud of all that she and Ling Kray had accomplished together. But her last day in Zin Zaraboob was flying by. The heat and her appetite both told her that it was noontime already. In just a few more hours her ship would sail, and she would never see the handsome pirate again.

Unless . . .

A knock on the door roused the elf-maid from her thoughts. She looked up with a thudding heart, half-hoping that Ling Kray had come to say farewell.

"Hey there, beautiful! Got any more baggage for us?"

"Just what's outside." Arwen didn't bother to look happy or put on an act. Red-haired Captain Margo knew her to well.

"Well, no worries, then." The carefree captain's cheery smile was quickly replaced by a look of deep concern. "Hey, you're not having second thoughts about leaving, are you? Ling Kray has been saying all week what a huge loss it will be when you go. Didn't you hear his speech last night to the froggy people?"

"Yes, I heard his speech." Arwen couldn't bring herself to say that the big speech had been a letdown. She'd hoped for something more personal. A private thank you. Some sign that Ling Kray would miss her the way she already missed him. But ever since their last kiss at the temple, the "new" Ling Kray had been very cool and distant. He knew she belonged to Aragorn. She always had. She just wished . . .

"Well, is there anything I can get you, like some food from the royal kitchens? You've got a long journey ahead, so why not eat now? It wouldn't hurt to lie down afterwards, either. Maybe get a little shut-eye before you sail."

"That sounds lovely." Arwen couldn't help smiling at her friend. "I'd love a tray, right away. And Margo . . . do you think you could find me some ink and parchment?"


	28. The Wrong Man

CHAPTER TWENTY-EIGHT: The Wrong Man

A single drop of sweat rolled off Arwen's nose and splashed on the parchment. She was trying to explain to Ling Kray why she needed to leave him, but the words wouldn't come. With a deep sigh, the lovely-elf maid dropped her quill and sank back in her seat, scanning what she had written so far.

_Call of duty . . . ancient ties . . . noblest of men . . . promises and responsibilities . . . _

Why was it so hard to explain all this to Ling Kray? The more she tried to put it into words the emptier it all sounded. Aragorn was noble, honorable, heroic . . . yet none of that made her heart pound the way it did whenever Ling Kray walked into the room. What was wrong with her?

"Hey there, blue eyes." Captain Margo sauntered into the hot, stuffy room like a cool breeze, her easy smile turning to a look of genuine worry when she saw Arwen's frowning face. "What's the matter, can't find the right words?"

The elf-maid nodded. "I tried before lunch, and I tried after lunch. It's just not coming." Wearily, she picked up her quill. "Maybe I should tell Ling Kray I have to leave before I get fat as a hobbit feasting on figs and sherbet and almond cakes!"

The beautiful red-head gave a ringing laugh. But her green eyes were serious as she lifted the empty silver lunch tray. "Maybe you're writing to the wrong man."

"The wrong man?" Arwen chewed her quill in confusion.

"Instead of writing Ling Kray and telling him why you _have_ to leave, write to Aragorn and explain why it's so _hard_ to leave."

Arwen blushed. "You mean, tell Aragorn about Ling Kray?"

"Hey, you've got to come clean sooner or later. You're not a liar, beautiful. And if you can't love anyone but Ling Kray, the rest of us are just going to have to accept it." Margo was smiling, though her piercing emerald eyes were a little sad. She took the tray and walked away, stopping briefly in the doorway. "If Aragorn was really smart, he never would have left you in the first place."

"But he was saving the world!" Arwen's cry of protest died on her lips. It was useless to explain. Margo's sandals went clacking down the hall, leaving her all alone once more.

Strangely enough, when Arwen picked up her quill again the female captain's wise counsel seemed to take hold of her.

_I hated Ling Kray from the first moment I laid eyes on him_.

Before she knew it, the words were spilling onto paper. Arwen described everything that had happened to her since leaving the safe haven of Lady Galadriel's protection. She didn't leave anything out, not Ling Kray spanking her on his ship or how often they'd kissed or how he'd risked his life to save her time and time again. Even when she told about her own good deeds she told how Ling Kray had been behind her, trusting in her when she went forward. No-one else had ever depended on her the way he had when he was turned into a frog. And he still depended on her.

_The truth is I belong to Ling Kray. It's hard to put this feeling into words. We are connected in a way I can't explain. I know it is wrong to feel such things, but I feel them. And because you are a truly noble man, Aragorn, you deserve someone who will feel the same way about you._

"Lady of Light, thank you." Arwen felt as if the weight of Mount Doom itself had fallen from her shoulders. It felt so good to be free of doubt and worry, to speak the truth at last!

Of course, when she picked up the parchment and read over what she had written, the beautiful elf-maid realized that she had given voice only to her own feelings. There was no telling whether or not Ling Kray felt as deeply for her as she did for him. He hadn't kissed her for days. Indeed they had hardly spoken, except when they met to discuss public matters at state dinners.

Yet strangely enough, none of that seemed to matter now. The Daughter of Elrond felt free, happy and in control of her own destiny for the first time in her life. When she saw the pirate-king again, she would open her heart to him honestly. As she rose from her writing desk and wandered over towards the bed she gloried in a newfound sense of peace.

Arwen needed to organize her thoughts before she went in search of Ling Kray. She also needed to see about sending her letter to Aragorn. But she no longer felt hunted or driven. Stretching out on the bed made her realize that she had worked hard on her letter. Before long she was fast asleep.


	29. Forever Yours

CHAPTER TWENTY-NINE: Forever Yours

Arwen was dreaming of all the close calls she'd had since leaving the protection of Lady Galadriel. There were spells and sorcery, falling rocks, and horrible sea-monsters that threatened to suck her down to a watery grave. Yet always it was Ling Kray to the rescue. Only now did she realize how brave and loyal her handsome pirate protector really was.

In her dream Arwen tried to thank him as they walked hand in hand by the sea. But a many-tentacled monster rose from the waves, wrapping slimy tentacles around her struggling body. The elf-maid screamed, holding out her arms to Ling Kray. Too late! The monster began pulling her down, deeper and deeper beneath the waves. Deeper . . . deeper . . .

"Arwen! Arwen, wake up! It's me, Ling Kray."

"Ling Kray!" Arwen threw her arms around the pirate's neck. The heat of his lips seared hers, and wakefulness returned. Instead of loosening her hold, however, she wrapped herself even more tightly around him.

"Lady Arwen, Lady Arwen, I must tell you . . ." Ling Kray had never called her lady before. But Arwen didn't care. She had her man in a firm grip. She drew him down to her as though she were the sea-serpent from beneath the waves. Before long he was on top of her, yet inside of her. All powerful yet entirely enslaved. Words were forgotten as the two of them were joined at last.

"I have a letter for you," Ling Kray said afterwards. "It was delivered by boat this afternoon." The new king didn't know what had hit him. Arwen was in his arms. He was in her bed. Yet it all seemed like a dream. The cool, polite, exquisitely poised elf-maiden had just made love to him . . . yet it wasn't at all what he had imagined. Instead of giving in with a whimper, she had swept over him like a typhoon. And now she was curled up in his arms as though he were her lord and master and it was only natural for her to be there.

A man could get used to this.

"Oh! I have a letter for you too." Tall, raven-haired Arwen bounced out of bed, her burst of energy making Ling Kray feel sluggish by comparison. A moment later she was back at his side, cheerful and helpful and alert, even lighting a small lamp so he could read her hasty scrawl.

"Oh, my beloved queen." Ling Kray sagged back on the pillows, looking at the goddess snuggling beside him. "This letter says you want to stay here. You want me instead of Aragorn. Do you really mean it?"

Arwen lowered her long lashes, her fingers toying with the thick black hair on his chest. "I think you know that I do."

"I am not worthy of you." Gently, Ling Kray kissed the top of her head, the tips of her pointed ears. "I have abused you and misused you since the moment we met. I have never once showed you respect, or honor . . ."

"Never once," Arwen agreed cheerfully. "Still, you've saved my life time and again. And you've been working very hard to be a good king these last few weeks. Everyone's noticed."

"I kept away from you on purpose," Ling Kray admitted.

"And I from you," Arwen replied. "We made a good team even when we were pretending not to notice each other." Her slim white hands shyly roamed his hard bronzed body. "Still, I think this is better."

"Others may not think so." Ling Kray pulled himself together. "Very well, then, let us open the other letter. If it's from Aragorn, I . . ."

"If it's from Aragorn you will leave him to me," Arwen said crisply. "This world has seen enough fighting for an age or two, don't you think?" She began untying the scroll, her fingers nimble and quick.

"You're going to rule me completely, aren't you?" Ling Kray was amused. His queen was so sensible and reasonable. Except when she was making love to him like a tigress.

Or when she suddenly began to howl with laughter.

"What's so funny?" Ling Kray growled. Being ruled was one thing, but being laughed at was another.

"Honor," she gasped. "He says it's a matter of honor!"

"Who says it's a matter of honor?" Thee fierce pirate picked up the letter, but couldn't read the elvish writing.

"I did wrong to laugh," Arwen said gravely. "Mortal men are so vain and insecure. Anyway, it seems that Aragorn has chosen another. Her name is Eowyn, and she likes horses."

"She likes . . . horses?" Ling Kray looked at the letter. He looked at Arwen. And then he began to laugh. He laughed and laughed until Arwen was laughing again too. Then they began to make love again, but more gently this time, sharing intimate words of promise and hope.

"I hope my letter pleased you as much as Aragorn's did," Arwen whispered in her pirate's ear.

"It did," he whispered back. "But if I were to write a letter to you, Lady Arwen, it would have only two words."

"Not three words?" she teased.

"I love you," Ling Kray stated. "I love you and I love you and I love you. Those are three words I shall never stop saying. But my letter would say only two words. Forever yours."

"Forever yours." As the pirate who had enslaved her for all eternity made love to her for a second time, Arwen decided that those were the only two words she ever needed to hear.

**END OF ARWEN AND THE SORCERESS**

_A/N: As Arwen and Ling Kray find their happy ending at last, there are so many people I want to thank for making it happen! Cally777, LetItBeXO, Arya Evenstar (wherever you are,) and everyone who took a chance on a most unconventional LOTR epic fan-fiction! _


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